Northbridge warns of ‘dangerous mental distractions’ to drivers
July 8, 2016 by Canadian Underwriter
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The use of hands-free technologies while driving does not eliminate distracted driving risk, Northbridge Insurance suggested Thursday in a blog post.
“Many drivers aren’t fully engaged on the road putting their lives and the lives of others at risk,” Toronto-based Northbridge stated in a blog post listing tips for managing distracted driving. “Even the use of hands-free technologies isn’t without risk as dangerous mental distractions exist even when drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.”
Northbridge advises drivers to stop at safe locations, such as rest stops or commuter lots, if they need to make calls and to let incoming calls go to voicemail.
Northbridge is owned by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.
Its blog “is provided for information only and is not a substitute for professional advice.”
Mobile devices are not the only source of distracted driving.
Northbridge is also advising drivers to keep both hands on the wheel and not to eat, drink or smoke while driving.
The insurer also urges drivers to prepare children with everything they need, to preset climate control and stereo systems, pre-program their route on all GPS devices and to review all maps and directions.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Northbridge was owned by Intact Financial Corp.
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Distracted driving’s root cause goes to the ‘dumbing-down’ of operating modern motor vehicles. Everything from auto transmissions, lights, windows, and other electronic controls now just coming to the fore contribute to ‘safety’, as do the modern engineered roadways, but effectively push to the back the driver’s innate and ultimate responsibility to be responsible for the vehicle, passengers and other road users.
Want a situation where distracted driving does not exist? Try British or other European roads where a driver requires full attention to all aspects of vehicle operation without many of the fore-mentioned niceties.
We qualify drivers by a licence, but fail to ensure continued learning and continued skills improvement. As insurance companies would be the first to benefit from programs reducing the 90+% of ‘accidents’ that are preventable by either and both parties, I for one would like to see a collaborative effort from our insurance industry to reduce future costs by continued improvement in that common skill of vehicle operation.