Carol Sachs RN, BSN

Distracted Driving and Young People

Tags: car accidents distracted driving driving safely texting while driving

Distraction while driving occurs any time you take your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind off your primary task: driving safely. There are three main types of distractions: Manual, Visual, & Cognitive. It is this last type of distraction – known as cognitive distraction– which appears to have the biggest impact on driving behavior, especially for young drivers. Young drivers, for the purpose of this paper, will be defined as those ages 16-20. According to Distraction.gov, “young drivers are 4 times more likely than any other age group to be involved in a crash while distracted”. They are also 44% more likely to text. 73% of those surveyed report driving while texting. This results in 23 times more likelihood of crashing. In fact, 16% of all distracted driving crashes involve drivers under 20. Crashes are the leading cause of death worldwide among those aged 15–29 years.