Distraction can be defined as any time a driver diverts his/her attention from the driving task. This may include external distractions, such as looking out the window at a passing building, street sign, or person, or internal distractions, such as talking on a cell phone, eating, reading, or adjusting the radio. The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) reported that 8 percent of large-truck crashes occurred when Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers were externally distracted and 2 percent of large truck crashes occurred when the driver was internally distracted.¹⁵

Below are some tips that will help you stay attentive to the road ahead.

TIP # 1: DO NOT FIXATE ON NON-DRIVING RELATED OBJECTS

When driving, keep your mind engaged with driving-related information and try to avoid focusing on external objects such as billboards or buildings or internal objects such as a cell phone or paperwork. Remember that all distractions can be dangerous. Paying attention to driving-related information will help you determine when and where there are vehicles around you and will also enable you to react more quickly to any unforeseen event.

Did You Know? A study published in April 2006 found that driver inattention was the leading factor in crashes and near crashes. The study reports that nearly 80 percent of crashes involved some form of driver inattention within 3 seconds before the incident.¹⁴

Did You Know? Inattention or other mental activities distracting you from driving can cause you to gaze blindly at the road and/or objects ahead without actually seeing/recognizing them because your attention is focused somewhere else.⁶⁴

An example of an external distraction is shown in the video clip below. Training exercise questions follow the video clip.

VIDEO DESCRIPTION: The CMV driver is traveling in the right lane of a two-lane highway on wet pavement during the day. The driver becomes distracted with something out his right window as traffic begins to slow ahead of him. The driver returns focus to the forward roadway and has to brake quickly and move into the left lane.

TRAINING EXERCISE: After viewing the video, try to answer the following questions:

• How attentive was the driver to the forward roadway and the traffic around him?
• What was the result of the driver's external distraction?
• Were there any vehicles in the adjacent left lane?
• What could the driver have done differently?

TIP # 2: AVOID SMOKING WHILE DRIVING

Smoking while driving can be very distracting, as it requires you to remove one or both hands from the steering wheel to light a cigarette and to hold it for an extended period of time. Several studies have found that smoking while driving increases the risk of being involved in a crash.^65,66,67

Did You Know? Smoking was found to be a source of distraction in 0.9 percent of distraction-related crashes, which equates to approximately 12,780 crashes over the 5-year period examined.⁶⁸

An example of an internal distraction due to smoking is shown in the video clip. Training exercise questions follow the video clip.

VIDEO DESCRIPTION: The CMV driver is traveling in heavy traffic in the right lane of a two-lane highway during the day. The driver reaches for a cigarette and begins to light it, letting his truck slowly move forward. As the driver is trying to light the cigarette, he drops it in his lap as the traffic in front of him stops. The driver looks up and has to quickly brake to avoid a rear-end collision with the vehicle in front of him.

TRAINING EXERCISE: After viewing the video, try to answer the following questions:

• What driver behaviors indicate the driver was internally distracted?
• Why did the driver remove both of his hands from the steering wheel?
• Did the traffic conditions change while the driver was trying to light his cigarette?
• Why did the driver brake excessively?
• What could the driver have done differently?

TIP # 3: TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING

Avoid using your cell phone while driving. If you must use your cell phone, try to find a safe place to stop or pull off the road, and keep your conversations short.⁴⁴ The risk of a crash when using a cell phone is four times higher than the risk of a crash when a cell phone is not being used.⁵⁸

Did You Know? A recent study found the majority (55 percent) of crashes in which the driver's attention was diverted involved some kind of internal distraction such as objects, interacting with another person or animal, or interacting with instrumentation, including the radio or a cell phone.⁶⁹

Did You Know? Cell phones fit into each of the four major distraction categories. Cell phones are a visual (may require you to take your eyes off the road to dial), auditory (requires you to listen), biomechanical (requires you to operate them manually) and cognitive distracter (requires you to engage in a mental task other than driving).⁷⁰

Did You Know? A study by Gartner et al. (2002), reports that drivers made more lane deviations while dialing a cell phone than when operating a CD player.⁷¹

An example of a distracted driver is shown in the video clip below. Training exercise questions follow the video clip.

VIDEO DESCRIPTION: The CMV driver is traveling in the far right lane of a multi-lane highway during the day. The driver's lane is about to end and merge into the left lane due to construction. The driver is distracted while talking on a cell phone and does not notice the warning signs in time to merge safely. In addition, there is a vehicle to the left of the driver, preventing him from merging as soon as he realizes the lane is about to end. The driver has to brake hard to avoid the barrier once his lane ends. He quickly ends his cell phone conversation and waits until traffic allows him to merge.

TRAINING EXERCISE: After viewing the video, try to answer the following questions:

• What behaviors indicate that the driver was internally distracted?
• What happened while the driver was talking on his cell phone?
• What did the driver have to do to avoid a collision?
• What does this tell you about the driver's attention while driving?

TIP # 4: MINIMIZE EATING AND DRINKING WHILE DRIVING

Make sure to eat before getting behind the wheel or leave time to pull over and eat safely. Eating while driving may not only be messy, but dangerous, as it creates a physical and visual distraction for drivers. It usually requires drivers to remove one or both hands from the steering wheel while juggling food or beverage with the other.⁷²

Did You Know? A U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) survey, across all driver types, found that 49 percent of drivers consider eating or drinking a potentially distracting behavior.⁷³

Did You Know? A recent study found that eating while driving was riskier than talking on a cell phone.⁷⁴

Did You Know? On May 23, 2008 a 51-year-old CMV driver crashed into the back of a stopped school bus, which was letting children out, on Highway 50 in western Kenosha County, WI. The CMV driver was distracted by drinking a soda and did not see the school bus which was stopped with its lights flashing and its stop-arm extended. After the crash, 14 children had to be taken to area hospitals, 4 of them with serious injuries. The large-truck driver was transported to a hospital in critical condition.^75,76