Often, the most dangerous driving distractions are the ones we don’t recognize. All the small things happening in your car can add up, taxing your mental focus until you’re hardly paying attention to the road. To help you identify these hidden hazards, we’ve put together a list of the five driving distractions you’d never expect.
Unsecured Items
You go to the grocery store for a few essentials, and you put your bag in the front seat. When you brake at the stoplight, the bag rolls off the chair and onto the floor. As you worry about whether your glass bottles are still in one piece, you’re falling into a cognitive distraction. Similarly, the more you keep an eye on unsecured items and adjust your acceleration and braking to avoid jostling them, the more likely you are to lose focus and get into a car crash.
Dirty Windshield
If you have hard water stains on your windshield, you may find it extremely difficult to see in the early morning and late afternoon, whenever the sun is near the horizon. As the sun hits your windshield at just the right angle, it can wreak havoc on your visibility and leave you struggling to make out traffic and stay in your lane. The good news is that you can fight dirty windshields with lime and calcium removers available in the cleaning section of any grocery store.
Having a Conversation
Talking to a passenger is a cognitive distraction, whether they’re sitting right next to you or they’re on the phone. Talking to a passenger may use a little more of your focus, as you’re more likely to look at them and make eye contact or gesticulate with your hands. In some cases, talking to a passenger could be considered a “triple threat” driving distraction.
Poor Maintenance
You’re driving through town when you hear a rattling coming from your air vents. Your attention immediately shifts away from the road and toward trying to determine the cause of the noise. You may even adjust the controls, a manual distraction, trying to make the sound stop. It seems like a small thing, but anything that draws your attention from driving puts you at risk of being in a crash. You can prevent these types of distractions by ensuring regular maintenance for your vehicle and taking your car to the shop if you think something needs to be fixed.
Kids in the Backseat
Young children often don’t realize the stakes of driving a car, and many don’t understand proper car behavior. If you drive with very young children, take some time to teach them car etiquette. Let them know that it’s dangerous to kick the driver’s seat, raise their voice, or throw things. The earlier you teach your child car safety, the less likely you are to experience this kind of driving distraction.
If a distracted driver seriously injured you or someone you love, you need affordable representation from a team you can trust. If you’d like an experienced Connecticut car accident attorney from RisCassi & Davis, P.C. to evaluate your case, don’t hesitate to call us at (860) 245-2412 or send us an email!