Distracted driving

According to the Director General of Road Transport Department in Malaysia, 40% of road accidents in the country is caused by following the front vehicles too closely, 26% dangerous cornering, 13% dangerous overtaking and 12% over speeding. Following the front vehicles too closely may be affected by few reasons such as attitude behavior, drunk driving and distracted driving.

Distracted driving can be extremely dangerous and even deadly, and it is important for drivers to understand what exactly constitutes a distraction when they are on the road, in order to keep themselves and others safe. There are three categories that law enforcement and researchers tend to use when discussing distracted driving: manual distractions, visual distractions, and cognitive distractions.

Visual: taking your eyes off the road

Manual: taking your hands off the wheel

Cognitive: taking your mind off driving

Distracted driving is a leading cause of road traffic crashes the world over. One of the most common causes is the use of mobile phones while driving, whether that's talking on a phone, texting, checking your social media profiles or simply browsing, the risks of crashing rise dramatically. The use of a telephone, whether handheld or hands-free, increases the risk of an accident by four times, while texting increases the risk by about 23 times. This is because the driver’s reaction time is 50% slower when using a telephone.