Distractions that Affect Driving
A common complaint heard from driving instructors is how easily distracted beginning driving students can be. What is so dangerous about this complaint is that the instructor is really saying the student is placing his vision on something that is not relevant to driving. This distraction could be as obvious as a billboard, which is designed to get your attention. Think about that, billboards are begging you to take your eyes off the road, off the cars in front of you, away from checking your mirrors or gauges. Driving is a visually active process. Think about it. How are you going to get all of the information you need in order to drive a car? The information comes through our eyes. To further emphasize the point we let deaf people drive, but we don't let blind people drive. Therefore, keeping your eyes involved in the driving process of I.P.D.E, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute is critical. Not only do distractions come from outside our car, like billboards, they can come from inside our cars, like vehicle navigation systems, music systems, PDAs (personal digital assistants), cell phones, passengers and even pets. Every one of these distractions is asking the driver to move their eyes, their hands, their attention or all three away from the goal of collision-free driving. Think about it, when you get behind the wheel of a car, are you really thinking about safety or how are you going to get where you are going. Probably, more along the lines of how you're going to get where you're going. Why would you leave if you can't arrive alive?