Daydreaming causes more accidents than electronics.

[Looneybomber]

http://autos.aol.com/article/daydreamin ... n-texting/

Car accidents caused by texting and talking on the phone have received a great deal of attention recently, but when it comes to distracted driving there is another under-reported menace: You.

A new study, released by the Erie Insurance Group just in time for Distracted Driving Awareness Month, looked at 65,000 fatal car crashes over the past two years. According to police reports, 10 percent overall were caused by distracted driving. Of those distracted driving deaths, the majority – 62 percent – were caused by a daydreaming driver.

"The results were disturbing," said Erie Senior Vice President Doug Smith.

Cell phones came in at 12 percent of fatal crashes. That's still high for a preventable cause of death but a fatal accident is five times more likely to be cause by a driver 'lost in thought' rather than cell phone use.

"Distracted driving is any activity that takes your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, or your mind off the primary task of driving," Smith said. "We hope the data will encourage people to avoid these high-risk behaviors that needlessly increase their risk of being involved in a fatal crash."

Other causes included in the study were 'rubbernecking', passengers in the car, and even pets in the vehicle. Erie cautions that this study is based on what police deemed the cause of the accidents included in the study, and since drivers are not likely to admit to distracted driving, the prevalence of distracted driving may in fact be under represented.

That said, I rarely drive with the cruise on and since I have to keep checking my gauge to make sure I don't drop below 45mph (shifts out of over driver) or go too fast, my attention stays pretty sharp. Maybe if we eliminated cruise control, or kept 16-30y/o women off the streets, we'd be ok.

[Dattebayo]

Yeah. Not paying attention to the road while driving in any form causes accidents. Duh.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah. Not paying attention to the road while driving in any form causes accidents. Duh.

This!

I've always found it silly that studies trying to analyze the effects of distracted driving always choose one particular distraction (like the nonsensical study that recently looked into how many people look at their phones WHILE STOPPED but did not include use of phones while in motion). Even having passengers has an effect. Having something big or distracting on the mind, even being in a hurry, things like that will take your focus off the road and that's going to impair your driving ability. Since most drivers are already fairly inept even at their baseline, a little distraction can become a big problem.

What scares me is that it doesn't even take any overt DISTRACTION to reduce most people's focus. Watch other drivers closely. They never use their mirrors. They never turn their heads to look outside the left side of the windshield. And even then, much of what they DO see clearly doesn't register on a usable level. There is very little awareness. Start subtracting from this kind of "focus" and you're practically begging for an accident.

Just one more reason to be naturally alert and aware when driving. On my off days I'm still far more focused than Farmer Bob and his wife in their Tahoe can manage on their best day.

[Looneybomber]

Just one more reason to be naturally alert and aware when driving. On my off days I'm still far more focused than Farmer Bob and his wife in their Tahoe can manage on their best day.

Farmer bob almost hit me head on the other day on my way to work. In a 55mph zone, here comes a car across the double yellow. Just past half the width of his car in my lane while I had one hand on the wheel and one on my sandwich. Luckily I had HUGE shoulders so everything was fine, but still.

[Dattebayo]

In other news, how come people hide in your blind spot and suddenly you're the as*hole when you pull over and almost hit them? Seriously, we were all taught the common blind spots in driving school, why are you gonna pace someone like that? JERK. GO DIAF.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I usually drop 3-5 mph when that happens. Since most other drivers are useless morons who don't use speedometers OR cruise control, they'll generally shadow me and stay on my quarter. Then I speed back up and the problem is solved.

[Looneybomber]

In other news, how come people hide in your blind spot and suddenly you're the as*hole when you pull over and almost hit them? Seriously, we were all taught the common blind spots in driving school, why are you gonna pace someone like that? JERK. GO DIAF.

Everyone needs to ride a motorcycle on the road some time. They will all learn not to do that...or die. Survival of the fittest.

[Jesda]

I usually drop 3-5 mph when that happens. Since most other drivers are useless morons who don't use speedometers OR cruise control, they'll generally shadow me and stay on my quarter. Then I speed back up and the problem is solved.

[WDRacing]

Yeah. Not paying attention to the road while driving in any form causes accidents. Duh.

d!ck, I was going to post that

I'm glad my old man was a good teacher. He was constantly talking to me when we drove anywhere, be it hockey games or cub scouts. Scanning the mirrors, blind spots, situational awareness and most importantly, it's not my driving I should be worried about, but everyone else on the road.

[Mr1der]

What are the statistics on handjobs? Both giving and receiving?

[Bubba1]

[... it's not my driving I should be worried about, but everyone else on the sidewalk.

FTFY....

[Looneybomber]

What are the statistics on handjobs? Both giving and receiving?

Depends. Is your passenger Jane, or john?

[Jesda]

I worry about Chevy Cruzes with built-in Facebook and Twitter text-to-speech apps.

Someone is going to get dumped by Facebook, bawl their eyes out, and crash into a house.

[Mr1der]

Have I gone on a rant about it being illegal to text and drive but we put nearly all of the comfort controls on Goddamn touchscreens on new vehicles? I can't run my hand across that and change them by feel so I can keep my eyes on the road.

f*** stupid. GIVE ME MORE BUTTONS!

[MinisterofDOOM]

I agree. As gaming on tablets has taught those of us who are not too stubborn to use our brains, touchscreens are generally NOT a viable replacement for physical buttons. They are great supplements or secondary options, but not replacements. If I can't feel the button, I can't use it without looking at it. If I can't use it without looking at it, it shouldn't be intended for use by the driver of a car.

GIVE ME MORE BUTTONS!

Be careful what you wish for.