Driving requires full concentration. Anything that takes your eyes, hands, ears, or mind away from driving increases the risk of a crash. This can include phones, passengers, food, music, or even daydreaming.
Research using brain scans found that talking on a phone while driving – even hands-free – can draw nearly 40% of mental resources away from the task of driving.
Phone conversations can reduce a driver’s ability to notice important visual and sound cues that may help avoid a crash. Research has also shown that the same parts of the brain needed for spatial awareness, navigation, and visual processing are being used during phone conversations instead of focusing fully on driving.
Even so, many drivers still underestimate the risks of distraction.
There are still many common myths about driver distraction, but the facts clearly show the risks.
Driving already involves coordinating many tasks at once – steering, braking, checking mirrors, watching traffic, and responding to hazards. Distractions increase risk when a driver’s attention is pulled away from those driving tasks and focused elsewhere. The issue is not multitasking itself – it’s competing tasks outside the driving environment.
It is illegal to touch a mobile phone while stopped in traffic or at traffic lights. Drivers still need to stay alert and ready to react to changing traffic conditions, even when the vehicle is not moving.
If a driver looks away from the road for just two seconds, a vehicle travelling at 60 km/h can travel more than 33 metres. That is roughly one-third of a rugby field travelled without looking at the road.
Myth and Fact! It often depends on the passenger. Good passengers can help drivers by spotting hazards and pausing conversations during difficult traffic situations. However, distracting passengers can increase crash risk in similar ways to phone conversations.
Eating and drinking can reduce a driver’s control of the vehicle and delay reactions in an emergency. Spilling food or drink can also create sudden distraction that takes a driver’s attention away from the road.
Here are a few things you can do to stay focused and reduce driver distraction.
