What is distracted driving?
Today’s technology has created many opportunities for drivers to divert their attention away from the road. Whether they choose to look at their phone, program their GPS or scroll through their song playlist, the actions they take result in not paying attention to their driving.
Distracted driving is very dangerous. Drivers who do not focus on the road caused more than 42,000 accidents in 2021 in the state of Florida. Better driving practices could have prevented every one of them.
What are the causes of distracted driving?
Distracted driving occurs when a driver pays attention to something other than driving their vehicle. Distractions fall into three categories:
- Cognitive distractions, when your mind focuses on something other than the road
- Manual distractions, when you take your hands off the wheel
- Visual distractions, when you look at something other than the road
What is the most dangerous distraction while driving?
Texting is the most dangerous distraction. When you text you engage in all three categories of distraction: you are thinking about what you are reading and how you will reply, causing cognitive distraction; your hands are off the wheel as you handle your phone and type, causing manual detraction; you are looking down at your phone instead of at the road, causing a visual distraction.
Is distracted driving illegal in Florida?
Distracted driving, especially texting while driving, is illegal in Florida. Law enforcement can pull over distracted drivers and issue citations.
To avoid a fine, as well as keep you and the people around you safe on the streets of Florida, never participate in distracted driving, especially texting while behind the wheel.