Smart Phone Use and Distracted Driving

More than 800,000 vehicles are driven on U.S. roads during the day by drivers using smartphones. We aren’t just talking about calls here. Reading or sending a text takes five seconds, but it also takes your eyes off the road. At 55 mph (the average speed limit in Illinois), that is like driving through a whole football field blindfolded.

Distracted driving can prove to be fatal, or lead to costly personal injury lawsuits. Smartphones are necessary, but by encouraging employees to ignore their devices on their way to work, you can ensure they remain safe on the road.

The Dangers of Distracted Driving

Any non-driving activity is a potential distraction. That’s because, contrary to popular belief, the human brain cannot process two tasks simultaneously. It handles them one at a time and switches between them as well. That is a lot of work for an organ responsible for several functions at a time!

Our brain can juggle tasks at lightning speed. It is one of the reasons why we think we can multi-task. In reality, we are only performing one task at a time. Additionally, the brain constantly processes the information it receives. It first chooses the info it can focus on, processes it, encodes it in our memory, and stores it away.

That’s not all. At the same time, it also performs two cognitive functions – it takes out stored information and acts on it. If overloaded, it blinds drivers to crucial information such as a red light, a stop sign, other cars on the road, and pedestrians.

What is Inattention Blindness?

This phenomenon is called ‘inattention blindness.’ Here is how it works. When we take care of two cognitive tasks at once (in this case, driving and using our smartphones), vital data falls out of view and is thus, ignored by the brain.

In fact, we don’t process everything our eyes see, even if we are standing still. The brain picks and chooses data to process, so it doesn’t overload itself. That is why distracted drivers are often blind to changes in scenery. The information never makes it to their working memory, so they often fail to see incoming hazards until too late. Unfortunately, these incidents nearly always prove harmful or, worse, fatal.

Needless to say, during rush hour, confused commuters can get into a serious accident.  As an employer, it is your job to ensure your employees can safely get to and from work. Unfortunately, some accidents are unavoidable. However, you can protect yourself from liabilities and hefty medical bills by opting for personal insurance.

Get Personal Insurance in Woodridge From SIA Insurance Group

If you are looking for comprehensive personal insurance in Woodridge or require insurance coverage for your business, you can count on SIA Insurance Group.

We have a hands-on approach which means we will work with you to create a tailored risk management program and insurance. Our team specializes in providing integrated risk management services to small and middle markets. Each client interaction is handled with the utmost care to ensure the best customer service. Get in touch with us for a consultation today in Woodridge, IL.