Driving distractions come in all types of shapes and sizes but they're all equally as dangerous.
That's because when your eyes are off the road for just two seconds, your car travels more than 22 metres at 60km/hr. Considering the average amount of time it takes to react is 1.8 seconds, you have just .2 seconds to prevent a potentially fatal accident.
You may think you're aware of driving distractions and how to prevent them but there are heaps of little things we do in our cars every day that we don't think of as distractions.
During Road Safety Week, Senior Constable Jessop from Queensland Police stopped by to share some common driving distractions that are often overlooked.
Driving Distractions You Didn't Think Were Distracting
- Eating in your car
- Changing a CD or radio station
- Fiddling with air conditioning or trying to find a particular control
- Taking a sip of water, coffee or other drink
- Observing something for too long i.e. gawking at the scene of an accident
- Engaging with or looking at children in the backseat who are crying, playing, singing, etc.
- Pets barking or moving in your car
- Looking at your mobile phone, picking it up, touching it on its holster or using hands free/bluetooth
- Having a conversation with your passengers
- Having an emotional or heavy conversation over hands-free
- Reaching for something on your passenger seat or backseat
Now that you know which unexpected distractions to look out for, have a plan before you get in the car for how you will tackle them.
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