The driver loses precious seconds before recognizing the situation and must make an emergency maneuver. The three basic types of distracted driving are mechanical, visual and cognitive. All types increase crash risk.
Visual: During visual distraction, drivers’ eyes are off the road, such as looking at a billboard or the dashboard.
Mechanical: A driver’s hand is off the wheel during mechanical distraction, such as eating or handling an object.
Cognitive: Cognitive distraction poses the highest risk because the driver’s mind is off driving. When a driver’s brain is overloaded by two cognitive tasks, such as driving and talking on the phone, drivers make the phone conversation the main task and driving becomes the secondary task, without recognizing it. Driving is severely impaired as a secondary task, and the impairment can last a long time.