When people think about driving distractions, they are often thinking about visual distractions. For instance, if someone is texting and driving, they are looking down at their phone. This is clearly a source of distraction and certainly does lead to car accidents every single day.
However, the CDC notes that there are multiple types of distractions, including manual distractions. These are more common than people realize, and many drivers get distracted every single time they’re in the car, even if they try to keep their eyes on the road.
Keeping two hands on the wheel
Essentially, a manual distraction is something that makes you take your hands off of the wheel or the car’s other controls. This makes it harder to react and avoid accidents.
The distractions are everywhere. Changing the radio station is a manual distraction, as is looking up a new playlist on your phone. If you’re a parent, you may have children who ask for snacks or drop their toys on the floor and ask for you to reach back and pick them up. If you’ve ever gone through the drive-through to grab a cup of coffee on your commute to the office, eating and drinking in the vehicle is a manual distraction.
As you can see, many of these things are so common that people don’t even consider them to be a safety issue. That’s just part of why distracted driving accidents continue to happen with such frequency.
What are your options?
If you’ve been injured by a distracted driver, then it’s very important for you to look into all the legal options you have to seek financial compensation for medical bills and other costs.