Explore Common Causes of Distracted Driving In San Jose, CA

woman using her phone while driving

According to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, more than 420,000 people were injured in auto collisions in which distracted driving was a factor. 3,328 lost their lives. After the advent of SMS messaging, distracted driving quickly became a leading cause of traffic collisions. Text messaging is the leading cause of distracted driving, but it is only one of many. Other common causes include:

Chatting on the Phone

Texting is the most common cause of distracted driving, but statistics suggest that talking on the phone is not much safer. Even when using a handset, it is easy for drivers to become so engrossed in their conversations that they lose their focus on the road. Engaging in communication with passengers in your car can also cause you to become distracted.

Eating and Drinking

Reaching for a bag of food that you’ve placed in the back or driver’s seat, instinctively reaching for crumbs as they fall and tilting your head back to take a drink are all ways to divert your attention from the road. If you get really hungry or thirsty while you are driving, pull over to tend to your needs.

Personal Grooming

The car is not the place to put on makeup, brush and style your hair, or clean your teeth. Even if you are stopped at a light, it is unwise to engage in these practices for risk of missing the light change and being rear-ended or holding up cars behind you. It is better to be a few minutes late for work than to risk causing a collision.

Reading

Traffic jams are a nuisance, but they do not give drivers an excuse to read or watch videos on their phones. If the use of a navigation system while driving can cause an accident, you don’t have to stretch your imagination too far to understand how reading or watching a video clip behind the wheel can be extremely dangerous.

If your automobile has been damaged in a collision that was caused by distracted driving or any other cause and you live in San Jose or a nearby community, Michael J’s Body Shop is here for you. Collision repair services in San Jose are our specialty, and we pride ourselves on working thoroughly and efficiently. For a free estimate from an experienced automotive repair specialist, call us at 408-279-2070.