Ten deadly driver mistakes

It's a typical weekday, full of normal, everyday occurrences. One of them, unfortunately, is that 36 road fatalities will occur today in the U.S. alone. And that number will only rise day to day as the Christmas and New Year's celebrations kick into high gear.

Of course, this is because it's the time of year when people tend to get behind the wheel after one drink too many. The number of road fatalities rises to 45 per day during the Christmas season and leaps to 54 per day around New Year's, according the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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Roughly 32 per centof the people killed in car crashes in the U.S. last year died as a result of a vehicle operator having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 the legal limit in many states or higher. And in a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report released earlier this year, 15 per centof 127,000 adults age 18 and older admitted to driving while under the influence of alcohol over the past year.

Sober drivers tend to become distracted in myriad ways and are every bit as dangerous as drunk drivers yet they're oblivious to the mistakes they make and how potentially dangerous they are.

Even though drunk drivers are often aware of the risk they're taking, sober drivers tend to become distracted in myriad ways and are every bit as dangerous as drunk drivers yet they're oblivious to the mistakes they make and how potentially dangerous they are.

Ask a group of people if they believe their driving is below average and nobody raises their hand, says Russ Rader, a spokesperson for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). "We all think we are the good driver and it's all the others who are crazy," he says.

Multitasking on the move

More than 80 per centof drivers recently surveyed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance admitted they were multitasking while driving doing anything from painting their toenails to talking on a phone, text messaging, eating, shaving, reading or applying makeup.

In a different study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSA) and Virginia Tech University, the results found that driving while distracted was a contributing factor in 80 per centof crashes and 65 per centof near crashes.

Assuming you're in the minority, however, and you don't get distracted while driving, one of the deadliest mistakes you can make is not wearing your seatbelt.

The NHTSA estimates that 270 lives are saved for every 1 per centincrease in seatbelt use and, in 2007, an additional 5,024 lives would have been saved if all unrestrained car occupants involved in fatal crashes in the U.S. had worn their seatbelts.

What's more, making the mistake of driving without properly restraining children under the age of 14 needlessly puts those passengers at risk. The NHTSA says that last year, 6,532 passenger-vehicle occupants age 14 and younger were involved in fatal crashes; among those who were fatally injured, 45 per centwere unrestrained.

Don't drive drowsy

Though not as common, yet every bit as dangerous, are drivers who get behind the wheel when they're drowsy and potentially nod off.

A 2006 NHTSA study says that moderate or severe drowsiness was cited as a factor in 22 per centto 24 per centof crashes and near crashes involving some type of driver inattention. And like drunk drivers, tired drivers know they shouldn't get behind the wheel but they do anyway.

Studies show that a driver who has been awake for 20 hours displays the same erratic and impaired behaviors as a driver with a blood alcohol level of .08 per cent.

"Sleep and driving is something we do on a daily basis," says Darrel Drobnich, chief program officer for the National Sleep Foundation. "Sleep deprivation is not stigmatized like alcohol."

The National Sleep Foundation's 2008 Sleep In America Poll found that 50 per centof drivers reported driving while drowsy at least once per month over the past year. More than one-third of all the respondents indicated that they have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving.

What's even more troubling is that studies show that a driver who has been awake for 20 hours displays the same erratic and impaired behaviors as a driver with a blood alcohol level of .08.

Two wheels as dangerous as four

While a driver's mistakes can affect those riding in other cars, at least those people are protected by a frame, seatbelt or airbag. Motorcyclists and bicyclists are completely exposed and tend not to fare so well if involved in an accident with a car, but they do bear some responsibility for their own safety if they ride without wearing a helmet.

The NHTSA says that in 2007, 44,000 bicyclists were injured in U.S. traffic crashes for various reasons, among them choosing not to wear helmets, disobeying traffic rules or failing to wear clothing visible to motorists.

Similarly, the NHTSA says 1,784 lives were saved by motorcycle helmets in 2007 and an additional 800 lives would have been saved if all motorcyclists had been helmeted.

According to a National Occupant Protection Use survey, helmet use dropped to 51 per centin 2006 (the last year data is available) from 71 per centin 2000. Only 20 states and the District of Columbia require motorcyclists to wear helmets while riding.

Even though not every state requires a helmet, the added protection can make a major difference since even good drivers sometimes lose focus or make a quick mistake at just the wrong time.

"Driver inattention and failure to obey traffic laws are factors in the majority of serious crashes," says Rader. "Yet virtually no drivers admit they're part of the problem. We have to recognize that these are the things that cost lives on our highways."