Distracted Driving: The Multi-Tasking Myth
Author
Steven Gacovino, Edward Lake, Luke W Russell
Author Bio
Attorneys Steven D. Gacovino and Edward Lake started their law firm, Gacovino Lake, in 1993. For 20 years they have served over 20,000 individuals across the nation recovering hundreds of millions in compensation for their clients. They represent victims in cases of distracted driving, auto accidents, and other injuries. They also help victims of defective medical devices (e.g., metal hip implants) and medications (e.g., Tylenol®).
Luke W Russell began producing marketing materials for Gacovino Lake in early 2012. A home-grown Hoosier, Luke brings a desire to investigate legal topics that are not well understood by the public. Some of these topics appear in his “You Be the Judge” video series.
Description
Over 3,000 individuals die each year in the United States because of distracted driving. Individuals contend that they can safely multi-task, but it’s the people in the other cars that cannot. Science is very clear that the human brain is incapable of multi-tasking, and when we multi-task there are ramifications to the rest of our abilities to perceive.
The 3,000 individuals who die each year are the easiest 3,000 lives we can save.
Our society will become enraged over other topics, stories of horrifying violence, military activity, or negligence. And unlike all the other topics, distracted driving is not politically charged. The solution doesn’t require any new technology or legislation.
If we come together as a society, we can save 3,000 lives each year. All we have to do is make a shift in our beliefs about multi-tasking.
This new book takes on the popular belief that people can drive perfectly safely while multi-tasking. Distracted Driving: The Multi-Tasking Myth shows that phone conversations – not just texting – are putting innocent lives at risk on the road.
Referencing scientific research and fascinating experiments, the book highlights the simple fact that the human mind has a finite capacity for attention and is incapable of focusing fully on road safety while performing even routine tasks. When we distribute our attention across tasks, we can easily overlook things that are directly in front of us – at the very moments when accidents can happen unexpectedly.
So long as we continue to believe we can multi-task and that we can do it without ramifications, thousands of people will continue to be killed each year. People live in outrage about other ways that individuals are wrongfully killed. The multi-tasking lie is killing over 3,000 innocent people each year.
Author Luke W Russell warns, “Our culture is quick to contradict itself on the dangers of cell phone use and driving. Individuals believe that others should not use their phone while driving, but contend that they themselves are able to do it safely . Clearly, people are not completely convinced that multi-tasking while behind the wheel is the best option.”
Book excerpt
Preface
We all like to think we’re in control of our mind. It’s kind of hard to imagine that we would be like the people who demonstrate in experiment after experiment that our attention easily gets away from us.
Who would think, for instance, that you could be told to keep an eye on a group of basketball players gathered together passing a couple basketballs while a gorilla walks onto the middle of the screen and waves at you – and yet you don’t even notice the gorilla.
Many experiments have shown how easily our attention is diverted, while we go on thinking we are alert to what’s right in front of us. We easily fail to see “obvious” things…including things that might need to be noticed while we’re driving a car.
We all wonder who’s having all those reported accidents blamed on texting or talking on cellphones while driving. Are those stupid drivers? Or are they distracted at just the moment when full attention is required?
The fact is that almost everyone can talk on a phone while driving without having a wreck. It’s also a fact that attention spread too thin at critical moments is behind many accidents. That’s what this little book is about – the critical moments when our full attention is required to operate a vehicle without causing harm to others or ourselves. The issue lies in those very short moments – not in the undeniable fact that we rarely have an accident while talking on the phone.
Accidents are called accidents because they are unusual. Someone slips on a small puddle of water on a restaurant floor because the puddle is nearly invisible, or steps on a nail in the grass at the city park.
Auto accidents rarely occur, compared to how many times we venture onto the roads. When we talk about accidents, we are talking only about rare moments. But cellphone use is making them less rare, enough less rare that we should drop our defenses and listen to evidence that says we are introducing a dangerous variable into our driving. It’s a little bit like pouring ourselves a small puddle of water to slip on every once in a while, or tossing a nail into the grass and thinking that we won’t step on it, since the park lawn is so big.
Do As I Say
En route to a recent conference for attorneys in Myrtle Beach, I, Luke, was enjoying the mid-afternoon flight and the beautiful autumn day on the other side of my airplane window. I walked out the airport terminal after landing and hopped into a taxi waiting for a visitor like me. The 40-minute drive was a cruise along broadleaf trees still dressed in green, unlike the Hoosier landscape I had left behind.
I struck up a conversation with the driver and learned that his grandkids badly needed an iPhone. He felt it was his responsibility to buy them one.
We talked about how much people use their phones, and we ended up on the topic of using a phone while driving. He explained to me, “I tell my family, ‘When I’m driving, I won’t pick up. If you need me, it can wait, because I gotta drive.’”
Author Website
http://gacovinolake.com/drive-cell-free/
Best place to buy your book
Distracted Driving: The Multi-Tasking Myth
Email lwrussell@gmail.com
