Driving is a complicated task, requiring 100% concentration to ensure that you keep your vehicle on the road.
As well as operating heavy machinery at speed you are concentrating on the changing roads ahead, calculating speeds and distances and responding to drivers, pedestrians and other obstacles around you.
Any other activity, whether talking to passengers, using a satellite navigation system, changing the radio or a CD, or eating, can be enough to make you lose control of your vehicle.
Distractions can be physical, mental or combined:
- Physical distractions cause you to take your eyes off the road or your hands off the controls
- Mental distractions take your mind off the job of driving
- Combined distractions have both physical and mental elements.
Many things can distract you whilst driving but the following are the main distractions that lead to road crashes:
- Using a mobile phone whilst driving
- Eating or drinking whilst driving
- Reading directions
- Adjusting controls in the car whilst driving
- Other passengers
- Using a Sat Nav