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Many Minnesota drivers wrongly believe that they can multitask

Although distracted driving causes many fatalities and injuries daily, many drivers continue to believe that they can multitask successfully.

Many drivers in Minnesota believe that they can successfully handle performing two activities simultaneously while operating a vehicle. According to a recent survey released by AT&T, more than a quarter of the drivers who participated said that they can easily handle doing two things at once while driving. However, when drivers multitask, they raise their risk of causing car accidents that injure or kill others on the road with them.

How the brain handles multitasking

One reason why drivers may continue to multitask is because they believe that the brain was designed to handle performing two activities at the same time. However, according to the National Safety Council, the human brain cannot effectively focus on two activities at once.

For example, talking on a cellphone and driving are two separate activities that require the use of several different areas of the brain. When a driver talks on a cellphone, his or her brain rapidly switches between these two activities instead of processing them at the same time.

Confident multitaskers are often the most dangerous

Although many drivers are confident about their ability to multitask, research shows that those who feel that they are skilled multitaskers are often the worst at performing two activities simultaneously. According to Scientific American, researchers had 300 participants fill out several questionnaires that inquired about:

  • How well they believed that they could multitask
  • Their personal driving habits
  • Their tendency to become impulsive or participate in thrill-seeking activities behind the wheel

Those who participated were also asked to complete a test, known as the Operation Span task, which measures a person’s ability to multitask. The researchers discovered that the participants who said that they used their cellphone while driving were more likely to perform poorly on the Operation Span task. These participants were also the ones who were more likely to report that they could do several things at once while driving.

Multitasking causes many fatalities and injuries

Many injury victims are created, and many fatalities are caused every day by drivers who choose to multitask behind the wheel. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on a daily basis, over nine people are killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in accidents involving distraction.

Those in Minnesota who were involved in a distracted driving accident may suffer from injuries that require significant medical and rehabilitative care. If you were injured in a car accident, speak with an attorney to determine what you can do to assert your rights to fair and proper compensation.

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