Driving requires you to focus, so avoid activities that distract you from driving. Driver distractions cause lower awareness, slower reaction times and impaired judgement. Taking your eyes off the road or getting distracted for a few seconds may be fatal.
Being distracted for 1 second at 60 mph means that you will travel 27m without controlling your vehicle!
Passengers
Research shows that young drivers having passengers of similar age increases crash risk dramatically - it’s thought to be due to distraction and peer pressure. Passengers can have both a positive and a negative impact on your driving:
Passengers can impact your driving
Be the boss of your vehicle - don’t let your passengers negatively influence your driving or distract you.
- Examples of positive impact - helping you to identify potential hazards, acting as a navigator or helping you change music.
- Examples of negative impact - distracting you by making noise or encouraging you to take risks.
If distracted, you may need to limit the number of passengers or ask your passengers to respect that you need to focus on driving.
Road Rage
Let’s face it, we all make mistakes. Keep calm even if somebody does something that annoys or startles you, and don’t respond aggressively or threateningly.
Do nothing that might aggravate the situation if someone is aggressive towards you. Road rage is dangerous and illegal.
