Distracted driving discussions usually revolve around texting and driving. Much of the time, they focus on young people. However, it’s not just a teenager texting on the way to school that you need to worry about. There are many different types of distractions.
One of the worst distractions, and the hardest for many people to avoid, is a child in the back seat. Parents chauffeur them everywhere: School, daycare, church, the store and their friends’ homes. They have to sit in the back seat when they’re young, and this is also the age when they can be the most demanding and need the most care.
The distraction from a child looks different from case to case. With infants and young toddlers, they may just cry in the car, grating on a parent’s nerves. They may want snacks or toys to occupy them. They may drop things and demand that their parents pick them up. They may endlessly ask if they have arrived at their destination yet.
Parents often feel compelled to try to help the children in any way that they can. They look at them in the mirror while talking to them. They reach back to hand out snacks. They turn around to break up two siblings who are quarreling.
The safe way to do this is to pull over, but parents don’t always feel like they have the time. They try to do it on the go, and they’re very distracted from the task of actually driving the car. When a distracted driver causes an accident, those who suffer injuries may have a right to financial compensation.