Distracted driving
Visual distractions involve taking one's eyes off the road, such as looking at a GPS system, looking at roadside billboards, or checking a child's seat belt in the rear view mirror.
Manual distractions involve taking one's hands off the wheel, such as searching for something in a bag, eating or drinking, grooming, or changing radio stations.
[clarification needed] New adaptations to technology in vehicles create a higher chance of looking at a screen and taking attention off the road.
[19] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2011 study found that 69% of respondent drivers between the ages of 18 and 64 admitted to calling on the phone while driving in the month before the survey and that 31% sent or read an email or text message.
A study from the president of Hagerty Insurance Agency found that coffee, hot soup, tacos, chili, hamburgers, and barbecued foods were the most dangerous to try and eat while driving.
[11] According to a study by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 15 percent of reported crashes were due to a teenage driver distracted by talking with a passenger.
[9] The US Department of Transportation estimates that reaching for a phone distracts a driver for 4.6 seconds; at 55 miles per hour, this could equal a football field of distance.
[26] A study by the American Automobile Association (AAA) found that talking to a passenger was as distracting as talking in a call on a hands-free smartphone,[27] and a study by Monash University found that having one or more children in the car was 12 times more distracting than calling while driving.
[12] Boston Globe correspondent Lucia Huntington stated that "eating while operating a vehicle has become the norm, but...proves costly for many drivers.
[30] More than 600 parents and caregivers were surveyed in two Michigan emergency rooms while their children, ages 1–12 years, were being treated for any reason.
The parents who disclosed conducting phone calls while driving were 2.6 times likely to have reportedly been involved in a motor vehicle crash.
[31] In 2011, Shutko and Tijerina reviewed a large naturalistic study of in field operational tests on cars, heavy product vehicles, and commercial vehicles and buses and concluded that: The somatosensory association, parietal and visual cortices are not significantly activated during simple driving tasks, like driving straight or making a right-hand turn.
A left turn with no oncoming traffic presents a little more activation in the premotor cortex, somatosensory area, visual and parietal cortices, as well as the cerebellum.
[33] When something as simple as answering general knowledge true-or-false questions are introduced as a distraction to the driver, the brain activity is increased during both straight driving and when turning left with the presence of oncoming traffic.
There was also significant additional activation bilaterally in the anterior brain areas, mainly in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and frontal polar region.
Even though driving becomes a primary cognitive function, when drivers are distracted (e.g.on their cell phones, talking to passengers, or fiddling with the radio), the areas of the brain that need to be activated to safely operate the vehicle are not.
According to an NHTSA report, 3,477 people were killed and 391,000 were injured in the United States from motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2015.
[44] Michigan's Kelsey's Law prohibits many teen drivers from using cell phones will driving, with a few limited exceptions.
The "Faces of Distracted Driving" is a DOT online video series that focuses on individuals who have been personally affected.
[50] In the August 2013 issue of Motor Age magazine, the NHTSA released voluntary guidelines covering the use of in-car infotainment and communication devices.
The campaign is an attempt to inform young drivers that no phone call or text message is worth a life.
[citation needed] An accident analysis and prevention study[53] found that the driver having quality and healthy relationships with passengers results in better driving.
While passengers have been found to pose a dangerous distraction to drivers, the quality of their relationships can make for a different outcome.
Some employers have taken steps to reduce distracted driving beyond current legislation; The military permits only hands-free use of phones.
[55] In October 2009, President Obama signed an executive order banning federal employees from sending texts in government cars.
Personal injury attorneys have documented a wide array of circumstances where long-haul commercial drivers' phone use has led to accidents.
AT&T head of emerging devices, Glenn Lurie, told CNNMoney that these advancements reflect a major step forward in converting cars from mindless machines to intelligent gadgets.
Likewise, Jaguar Land Rover monitors the driver's eyes to create the 3D image for its "Virtual Windscreen".
[64] Studies have shown rumble road strips have been effective in reducing crashes due to distracted driving.
