| Text Release Date and Time: 2009-10-19 08
October 19- 29th - Distracted Drivers
Distracted driving can occur any time a driver's attention is taken away from
where they should be focusing their concentration - the driving task.
Driver distractions include cell phones, eating, drinking, changing a CD,
fiddling with radio dials, talking to a passenger, experiencing emotional
distress, minding children, personal grooming, looking at billboards or even
other vehicles on the road.
There are many different types of distractions:
- Physical: Distractions that cause a driver to take his/her hands off the
wheel, such as eating a sandwich.
- Cognitive: Activities that take the driver's mind away from the road, such as
carrying on a conversation with another passenger, talking on a cell phone, re-living an argument in your mind or even daydreaming.
- Combination: Activities that take your hands, eyes and mind off the road,
such as reading a map or programming the radio.
Even a moment's distraction can be dangerous. A second or two may not seem
like much, but at 50 km/hr, you will travel 14 metres in one second.
Being distracted causes drivers to react more slowly to traffic conditions or
events, such as another vehicle stopping to make a left turn, or pulling out
from a side road. Distracted drivers fail more often to notice or recognize
potential hazards, including pedestrians, bicycles or debris on the road.
When drivers allow distractions to take their focus away from the seriousness
of the driving task, they decrease their margin of safety and are more likely
to take risks even without knowing it.
During the period of October 19th to 29th the MHPS safety message trailer will
be reminding drivers that "Distracted Drivers are Dangerous Drivers".
For more information please contact:
Sgt. Stacey Fishley
Supervisor i/c Traffic Unit
Medicine Hat Police Service
403-529-8471 |
Office of the Chief
