Don’t Text, Don’t Talk On The Phone, And Don’t Do This Harmless Thing Or You Could Be In Danger

Texting and driving is bad news when you drive, we all know that. What about being tired and letting your mind wander. Especially in the cold, you wander too far and you don't give yourself any time to stop, it could spell disaster.

Daydreaming is still considered distracted driving.  Maybe you just have something on your mind from earlier in the day. Experts and Authorities say, concentrate and focus when you drive, not only could you hurt yourself and loved ones in the car but others walking or driving. Everyone has something to think about while driving, but in this winter weather you need to concentrate on the task at hand.

Research by the Erie Insurance Group says it’s actually five times as dangerous to daydream while driving than texting or talking on your phone.

According to Erie’s findings some 62 percent of all distracted driving accidents in the U.S. each year that resulted in fatalities were blamed on the seemingly innocuous act of being “lost in thought.” By comparison, only 12 percent of distracted driving fatalities resulted from driving while using mobile phones.

To reach those numbers, Erie sifted through the data on the reported 65,000 fatal car accidents that take place in 2012 and 2011. About 10 percent of those deaths fell into the distracted driving column.

Distracted driving is any activity that takes your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, or your mind off your primary task of driving safely,” Smith told NBC. “We looked at what law enforcement officers across the country reported when they filled out reports on fatal crashes and the results were disturbing. We hope the data will encourage people to avoid these high-risk behaviors that needlessly increase their risk of being involved in a fatal crash.”

Quotes and information from NBC news and Yahoo!