According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 people die and almost 1,200 are injured every day due to Distracted Driving. Laws restricting the use of cellphones for making calls and prohibiting their use for texting have focused attention on those activities, but the causes of distracted driving are not limited to cellphone use.

Distractions are all around you

Distracted driving occurs when motorists engage in any activity that takes their focus away from driving. These distractions fall into three general categories:

• Manual: Activities in which your hands leave the steering wheel
• Visual: Diverting your eyes away from the road
• Cognitive: Your mind focuses on something other than driving

As you can probably imagine, there are countless activities that you engage in each day that cause one or more of the three forms of distractions. Examples of such activities include:

• Texting or talking on a cellphone
• Reading
• Checking your hair or makeup
• Adjusting a radio or CD player
• Using your vehicle’s navigation system

Hands-free devices do not eliminate distracted driving

Before patting yourself on the back for complying with the law in your state by using a hands-free device when talking on your cellphone, you could still be engaging in distracted driving. Hands-free devices keep your hands on the wheel, but they cannot keep your mind from wandering away from the road.

Avoid being a distracted driver

Multitasking and driving do not mix. If you must take a call, program your navigation system or engage in any activity that might distract you, it’s best to pull over to the side of the road.