Learn behind-the-wheel dangers of not being alert while on the road

By Julie Greene

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each day in the United States, eight people die and 1,161 are injured in crashesthat are reported to involve a distracted driver. Distracted driving is driving while doing something that takes the driver’s attention away fromthe road and their surroundings. This includes texting, talking on the phone, changing the radio station, reaching for a purse, etc. According toOfficer Diana Rodriguez, it’s obvious how to prevent distracted driving. She encourages students to not eat and drive, pull over if feeling tiredor drowsy, limit the number of passengers in the car, and do multitasking outside the car.

“It’s dangerous because it obviously causes accidents where you have a lot of people crossing the streets especially Blanco, around school,and things like that,” Police Officer Paul Palomo said. “Every day I work traffic at Huebner Elementary, and I’d say that everyday there’s 5-10people on their cellphones driving through the school zones. It’s very dangerous because you have a lot of kids crossing the streets.”

According to dmv.org, there are three types of distraction: manual, cognitive, and visual. When a driver is manually distracted, the driver takesone or both hands off the wheel for any reason. Cognitive distraction is when the driver’s mind isn’t focused on the road, and visual distractionis when the driver looks at anything other than the road.

All can be equally dangerous.

“In about 2008, a distracted driver, who was picking up a piece of paper while he was driving, went over to the wrong side of the road, and heunfortunately hit my dad’s car,” junior Madelyn Martinez said. “The impact originally would have killed both of them, my dad and thepassenger, but as my dad was trying to swerve out, it only hit his side of the car, and then he died.”

Bad weather paired with distracted driving can lead to an even more dangerous crash.

“InNewYorkCity,Iwashitbyatruckfrombehindbecausehecouldnotstopintherain,”seniorHeatherFlannery’sfather,ChristopherFlannerysaid.“Itshotmeforwardlikeabullet,buthewasdistractedashedroppedacordonthefloor.Hewastryingtopickitupsothathecouldlistentohismusic.”