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The 3 kinds of driver distractions

On Behalf of | Jan 22, 2025 | Personal Injury

If you are involved in a driving collision, then establishing fault will be crucial to determining eligibility for compensation. Sometimes, the cause of a crash is clear. For example, if the other driver was drunk and on the wrong side of the road, or if the driver of a stolen car hit you after failing to stop at a red light.

Other times, it is harder to determine. One factor that is often present, and sometimes hard to detect, is distraction. There are three kinds of distractions a driver may be guilty of:

1. Physical distractions

If a driver is holding something in one or both hands, they can’t grip the steering wheel properly. They can’t alter course as quickly as they should be able to. Yet drivers often take their hand(s) off the wheel to hold things like drinks, food, maps, phones and hairbrushes. Or to pick up a toy for their child or stroke their dog. 

2. Mental distractions

What do drivers think about when driving? Often, it is not the road. A failure to concentrate on their immediate surroundings means they are less likely to notice and slower to react once they do notice a potential hazard.

3. Visual distractions

Drivers should be looking ahead or in their mirrors to check what is in front, behind and to the side. If they are looking at their phones, delivery notes, passengers or the view outside the window they are prone to miss something important that could result in a crash.

With help to investigate what happened in the moments before a crash, you can increase the chance you get the correct amount of compensation due to you.