Driving is a serious responsibility and a privilege you should not take lightly. As a driver you have the obligation not only for your own safety but for the safety of your passengers, other motorists and pedestrians as well.

Twenty-five percent of the 6.3 million automobile crashes that occur each year are caused by driver distraction or inattentiveness.

Distractions are one of the biggest challenges drivers must deal with. Between finishing homework in the car and talking on the cell phones, they encounter risks not just form having their hands off the wheel but from having their mind off the road.

Distractions are everywhere. Noise, lights, people and even your own thoughts and stress can be a cause of distraction. Safety mirrors may be the safest alternative to taking your eyes off the road when driving.

Often car collisions are the result of inattentiveness on the part of the driver. There are lots of things competing for your attention when you’re behind the wheel of a car. Driver distractions such as the radio, passenger in the car, and especially cellular phones can lead to accidents as they take the drivers attention away form the road in front of them.

Perhaps the radio is playing or you’re talking to your friends or maybe you’re eating lunch or drinking a soda. Always remember that paring attention to the road is your number one priority. You need to think ahead and be constantly prepared for any situation.

Distractions make you less able to concentrate on safe driving and that increase your chances of an accident. Split seconds make a critical difference in safe driving.

Accidents as a result of inattentiveness form eating inside the car happen in the morning than in the evening because people are concerned about their appearance on the way to work. The most dangerous foods to eat while driving includes chocolate, soft drinks, jelly and cream-filled donuts, fried chicken, any barbecued food, hamburgers, chili, tacos, hot soups and coffee. All these foods increase the risk and vehicle damage of automobile accidents caused by inattentiveness behind the wheel.

The most hazardous situation combines eating and cellular phones. When the phone rings the driving distraction increases significantly and in the rush to answer the phone immediately, the driver forgets that he is driving.

One of the best ways to avoid driver distraction is to prepare. However, when driving there is a thin line between what is right and what is dangerous.