Avoid Distractions: Essential Strategies for Staying Productive
When you are on the road, there could be a number of things that can distract you. Distracted driving can take you off the roads by impeding your attention and concentration from driving. Road accidents contribute to more than a million deaths in our country, India, every year. Removing and not paying heed to distractions is one of the main ways to ensure that, as a driver, you are driving safely and making the roads safer for other drivers. In this blog, we will learn more about the types of driving distractions and also find some tips for distraction-free driving.
Types of Distracted Driving
Distracted driving can lead to many errors on the road. Anything that takes the driver’s attention away from the primary task of driving can be called a distraction. Distractions can be of various types. Let’s learn more about the types of driving distractions a person can encounter and why it is important that drivers avoid distractions.
Visual Distractions: Visual distractions are the types of driving distractions that can take the driver’s sight off the road and make them focus on visuals like glancing over to their navigation systems or GPS, changing the radio stations, adjusting items in your car, moving over to pick up falling items, adjusting controls on the vehicle for too long etc. Sometimes drivers may also get distracted looking at the huge and attractive billboards on highways. Stray and wild animals on the road are also types of visual distractions that can occur on the road and derail a driver’s path.
Manual Distractions: Manual distractions are the types of driving distractions that make the person driving take their hands off the steering wheel. When the driver takes their hands off the wheel for any reason whatsoever, like to eat or drink or even casually scroll on their screens or adjust car settings, it can take their attention away from driving and cause accidents. Avoid distractions like these to keep yourself and others safe on the road.
Cognitive Distractions: The types of driving distractions that arise from a person’s mind. These are called cognitive distractions. These kinds of distractions can take your focus and concentration from driving and cause accidents. Cognitive distractions are completely based on a person’s emotions. Some examples of cognitive distractions are when a person gets too involved and engaged with the passengers, chatting and discussing things that their mind wanders off and leads to a distraction. Some people also engage in aggressive driving behaviours and experience road rage. This is also an example of cognitive distraction. Drunk driving is another example of cognitive distraction.
Some other ways in which cognitive distractions can occur include driving when you are stressed or fatigued. When a person is tired and tries to drive, they can lose their focus. If any problems or unknown dangers happen on the road, the driver may not be able to react or respond appropriately. This can cause accidents, and the driver may end up putting their own lives and those of others on the road in danger. Hence, it is important to avoid distractions.
Tips to Avoid Distractions
- Put your phone away: Using mobile phones is the main cause of road accidents that occur due to distractions. Texting, calling, looking at messages or watching videos can also cause distractions by impeding your attention, perception, and performance. Fiddling with phones has become a natural part of most people’s lives in the present day, and it has become difficult to get rid of this kind of addiction. Putting your phone out of your reach and in do-not-disturb mode can help you avoid distractions that occur from using it.
- Stay organized: If your car is disorganized and shabby, there could be loose items and objects that could fall over and cause distractions while you’re on the road. So, sorting out the things in your car can help you avoid distractions. Another way in which lack of organization can affect your attention is when you keep receiving calls or don’t have a clear idea about the route that you are going to take. This can keep you occupied on your phone, which can be a huge distraction.
- Plan ahead: It is always better to have a good idea of your itinerary. Planning ahead can help avoid unnecessary hindrances and distractions.
- Adjust your tunes and temperature before take-off: before you start driving and begin your journey, adjust the car settings, such as the AC temperature, the radio station, and other controls. Other adjustments like to the mirrors, seating can also distract you from driving by taking your hands off the steering wheel and your eyes off the road.
FAQs
- Why is it important to avoid distractions?
Distractions can take your focus away from the task of driving and cause accidents on the road. They are the main cause of road accidents and that’s why it is important to avoid distractions.
- What are common distractions people face daily?
The common distractions that people face on a daily basis include visual distractions, manual distractions and cognitive distractions. Anything that takes a person’s attention and focus away from the primary task of driving is a distraction. The most common distractions that people face are scrolling on their phones, eating and drinking or mindlessly chatting.
- How can I avoid distractions while driving?
You can actively avoid distractions by stopping the car to engage in activities like calling someone, eating or drinking etc. Other ways to avoid distractions include staying organized and keeping the interiors of your car cleaned and adjusted. The key to safe driving and avoiding distractions is to plan ahead always.