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Are you a distracted driver? Take this quiz to find out

While we like to think of ourselves as “multi-taskers,” the human brain can only process one piece of information at a time. Distracted driving is defined as any activity that takes your attention away from the complex task of driving.

When you give your attention to the radio or the kids in the backseat or sugaring your morning coffee, even for a second, you increase the risk of needing to make corrective actions and the potential for crashes.

This danger is compounded when you consider that most of the other drivers on the road are also distracted. A 2005 survey of U.S. drivers revealed that over the week prior to the survey, 81% of them spoke to passengers, 66% changed the radio or CD, and 49% ate or drank while driving. Around one-quarter admitted to talking on the phone or dealing with children, and 8% confessed to personal grooming in the car.

So, what’s your DQ (Distraction Quotient)? In the past week, have you engaged in any of the following activities while driving?

• Turned to look at a passenger in the back seat
• Used a cell phone
• Took eyes off the road to look for road signs, or a house number or a store
• Carried on a conversation with a passenger
• Slowed down to look at an accident
• Consumed food or a beverage
• Lit or extinguished a cigarette
• Read a map, newspaper, or anything else
• Worried about work, being late, or a relationship
• Changed the radio station or a CD
• Applied makeup, combed your hair, or shaved

Scoring is simple: If you answered “yes” to any of these, you get a D for Distracted
and potentially Dangerous. Work at keeping distractions out of the driver’s seat,
starting with diversions like cell phones, food and drink, and reading materials.

If you answered “no” to all, you get an A for Alert and Attentive — keep up the
safe driving!

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