If you had to guess what driving distraction affects the most drivers and leads to the most accidents, what would you pick? Many people would quickly settle on texting and driving. They may also say that distraction from a mobile device is the biggest problem, whether that person is texting, using social media, reading email messages, using a GPS, streaming music or engaging in other activities.
While it is true that devices cause a significant amount of distracted driving accidents, some reports claim there’s a different top cause: Daydreaming. When a driver’s mind wanders, they may be just as distracted as if they were looking at their phone. Some studies have found that daydreaming is cited in more distracted driving cases than texting or the use of a mobile device.
Why can’t drivers stay focused?
One of the major problems with daydreaming as a driving distraction is that many drivers don’t even know it’s happening. That’s why it’s difficult for them to stay focused. They don’t realize they’re daydreaming in the moment. Their minds simply begin to wander, and they may not be aware of it until the crash takes place.
This makes it much more difficult to avoid than something like texting and driving. Technically, a driver could just turn their phone off whenever they get in the car, and they would know they wouldn’t be involved in a texting and driving accident. But every driver is potentially susceptible to daydreaming, especially on a routine drive, a long trip, or if they have many stressors in their personal and professional life. There’s no way to guarantee that a driver won’t start daydreaming, even if they want to drive safely.
If you’ve been injured in an accident caused by a distracted driver, you may need to seek financial compensation for medical bills and other costs.