One of the leading causes of injury accidents in Louisville and across Kentucky is distracted driving.  It is important to think about how to avoid an injury accident due to distracted driving and the specific steps you can take to protect yourself and your family.

The most common causes of distracted driving are cell phone use, personal grooming and eating while you drive.  Cell phone use extends to texting, distracting phone calls, checking social media and email.  It is easy to verify whether a driver was on their cell phone at the time of a car accident.  It is important to balance the issue of critical communications with our responsibilities as drivers.  If there is a crucial text or phone call to be made you might consider pulling over for a moment.

We’ve all passed drivers who are applying makeup or looking in the mirror because they are concerned with a personal grooming issue.  We all have days where we wake up late, or issues arise with the kids and ultimately we get behind schedule.  Instead of waiting until arrival or completing the grooming process before leaving home some drivers attempt to accomplish this on the way to work or while they are driving.

While almost all of us have hit a drive through in the midst of a busy day, eating while driving is actually another common cause of injury accidents.  This is especially true when looking away to dunk a nugget into sauce, or when a container of French fries tips over into the passenger well.  The momentary distraction associated with these events is all that is required to cause a potentially serious accident.

The key to answering the question of how to avoid an injury accident due to distracted driving lies in the distraction itself.  Taking your eyes off of the road ahead for any reason opens the door to an unexpected event which could leave you or others injured.