Distraction Free Friday: What’s distracted driving to you?

Photo credit: ctvnews.ca

Did you know that you’re 23 times more likely to crash your car when texting and driving? Those are pretty high odds for any driver. Now think about a novice driver, who has logged few hours behind the wheel, staring that statistic in the face.

In a 2011 survey of 6,000 young drivers over the age of 18 by the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA), respondents reported they found talking on their phones while driving had no negative impact on their driving ability. Drivers under 35 were even more confident, pushing up that statistic to 60 percent. Only 25 percent of those surveyed were as convinced about the impact of sending a text while driving.

“About 20 percent of young drivers 18 to 20 years old thought sending text messages or e-mails made no difference on their driving, compared to 27 to 29 percent for drivers 21 to 34.”

 – NHTSA Telephone Survey, December 2011

Most of us think we’re exceptional drivers, but sometimes it’s better to be honest with ourselves. Distraction.gov cites three types of distraction when operating a vehicle: manual, visual, and cognitive.

It’s time to ask yourself:  what is “distracted driving” to me? And then, more importantly, follow that question with, “What am I going to do about it?”

Start a conversation about it in the comments, and then with your friends and family.

Editor’s Note:  This post is part of the Distraction Free Fridays (#DFF) campaign. Help us encourage others to ‘put the device aside and focus on the drive.’