What are the consequences of driving while distracted?
A. Distracted drivers react more slowly to sudden traffic conditions or events, such as a car stopping to make a turn, or pulling out from a side road. They fail more often to recognize potential hazards such as pedestrians, bicycles or debris in the road. They decrease their “margin of safety” leading them to take risks that they might not otherwise take, such as turning left in front of oncoming traffic. When a driver’s attention is drawn away from the road and the surrounding environment, the result could be a delayed reaction to a hazard, or possibly a failure to detect it at all. All of these are common factors associated with vehicle crashes. Driver focus is critical to anticipating and avoiding collisions. One of the earlier studies on distracted driving, released by Transport Canada’s Ergonomics Division, ‘The Impact of Cognitive Distraction on Driver Visual Behaviour and Vehicle Control’ in February 2002 (Harbluk and Noy) found that performing a demanding cognitive task while
