Spotting a distracted driver on the road is not easy. When driving a vehicle, all your attention should be only on the road and not on other drivers. However, keeping an eye out for careless, distracted drivers can save your life.
When you spot a distracted driver, you may feel anger at their negligent behavior and want to confront them. However, it is better for your personal safety to spot and stay away from them as much as you can. You cannot control what other drivers do, but you can certainly take safety measures to protect yourself. If a distracted driver is the cause of your car accident injuries, you may consult with a car accident lawyer Atlanta GA.
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Tips to spot a distracted driver on the road
They are speaking on the phone.
When a driver speaks on their phone while driving, it is often easy to spot them. You may see them holding a smartphone to their ear, or they might have a Bluetooth device in their ear. Sometimes drivers also use their car’s Bluetooth system to speak on the phone where they neither have to hold their phone nor stick a small device into their ear.
They are not staying in the right lane.
The driver needs to have their eyes on the road to make sure they do not accidentally drift off to other lanes because that could result in an accident. When drivers are distracted, they may not be paying attention to the road, and you may find them swerving. This could also be a sign of alcohol or drug influence.
They keep pressing sudden brakes.
One of the common things that happen when a driver is not paying attention to the road is that their reaction time decreases significantly. This makes them recognize the danger at the last minute, resulting in sudden braking. Sudden braking increases the risk of a rear-end collision.
The vehicle speed keeps fluctuating.
Distracted drivers are neither attentive to the road nor their own driving. They may go slow for one minute and then speed up again. They fail to maintain appropriate speed because their attention is somewhere else.
They do not move when the signal is green.
Drivers who have the habit of checking their phones while driving will grab every opportunity they get. When they stop at a red signal, they may take out their phones and then forget to move their car when the signal turns green. This means they do not watch the traffic signal.
For the sake of your own safety, the best thing you can do is let the distracted driver get ahead of you so that they can get away. If you believe their behavior poses a danger to others, you may call 911 and report them.
