Are you a distracted driver?

You may feel as though you are a good driver. In fact, you may feel as though you and your car insurance agent are a closely bonded pair...never needing to make a claim due to anything that YOU have done or may do...am I right? Put down the "I'm number one" wave....you may be more of a hazard on the road than you think! This just in: if you are one of many drivers who now have as many of the techie bells and whistles in your car that you can handle, chances are that you are not focused on the task at hand, namely...driving. Many of these products, including GPS, e-mails and voice text message systems, along with the old standby, the radio, cause more accidents than you may give them credit for. 71% of these products claim to be "hands-free." Yet they are responsible for cognitive distraction effect. By the year 2018, just five years from now, 60 MILLION vehicles will have them. As a driver, are you ready? Are you prepared to deal with drivers who are more focused on twiddling with the "toys" in the vehicle and less on the road around them? While driving in Chicago, I saw a gal in a car next to me texting on her phone. Her head was focused on her phone for 18 seconds. Do the math: in those 18 seconds, going 60 mph....the whole "what if" scenario just boggles my mind. She didn't even look up that while time! Distracted driving is becoming as much of a hazard as drunk driving is. Despite the "no texting" rule that Minnesota has, has it stopped drivers from doing it? You answer that one...has it stopped YOU? We all share the road. Because of an accident that others cause, your policy rates will also go up. If you are the cause of an accident, be assured that Flo from Progressive will NOT be pleased! And...like a Good Neighbor, State Farm will be there, although very peeved that you not only caused an accident, in all likelihood, you may have also taken a life. Is that what you want hanging over head for the rest of YOUR life? Be a good driver...no...be the BEST driver you can be. When you are behind that wheel...please focus on the road...keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel and we will all get there just fine!