Dangerous distractions

It's not what your hands are doing, it's what your head is doing ...

"International Conference on Distracted Driving sought to determine the biggest reasons we lose our concentration behind the wheel.

One of the educational pamphlets distributed at a recent International Conference on Distracted Driving in Toronto was a 16-pager from the Canadian Automobile Association. Titled Pay Attention!, the cover illustration depicts a moronic motorist engaged in the following activities: gabbing on a cellphone, changing a CD, eating a burger and fries, slurping a soft drink, reading the sports section and checking a road map. Simultaneously, that is.

But more often than not, being distracted is not the result of manual dexterity issues. And, sometimes, being distracted is not the end result of wandering eyes, either. Rather, in some cases, distractions are borne out of mental blocks - the result of one's brain switching to autopilot while seated behind the wheel. In other words, the headlights are on, but nobody's home.

"Distracted driving is not about your eyes being on the road," Smiley said. "It's about your mind being on the road.""   continued ...   (Via Montreal Gazette)

Distracted Driving.