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USA Today: Prevent Car Accidents -- Pull Over To Multitask

In USA Today, columnist Bill McGee has a simple but important tip for drivers all over the country: pull over if you need to do anything other than focus on the road. While many states, including Virginia, are banning texting and mobile device use while driving, many drivers are still distracted by multitasking while behind the wheel. McGee says that if you need to do any distracting activities, such as eating, smoking, grooming, tending to children, or playing with the radio, leave it be until you are not in a moving vehicle.

The author points out several high-profile texting accidents in the United States over the past few years that involved public transportation officials and serious accidents, such as the Alexandria, Virginia, bus driver who slammed into a bridge while talking on his cell phone, injuring eleven people. In another incident in 2008, a railway conductor was texting in the moments before he missed a railroad stop sign. The train slammed into a freight train and killed 24 people.

In general, the rate of distracted driving incidents is increasing – mostly due to the growing popularity of mobile devices such as smart phones and cell phones. While driver distraction was responsible for an estimated 12 percent of accidents in 2004, it is now responsible for 16 percent – and that is only counting reported cases. Driving safety advocates believe the numbers are shockingly higher.

McGee also discusses the Virginia Tech texting study that revealed that teens are especially prone to cell phone-related driving distractions and distracted driving car accidents and car accident injuries. Specifically, drivers under the age of 20 are at the highest risk for the dangers of distracted driving.

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