All drivers should be astutely aware of the dangers of distracted driving. We’ve been hearing about it for decades. However, with the proliferation of smartphones and social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, the temptation, especially for younger drivers, has escalated to dangerous levels. If we are aware of the dangers of distracted driving, why do we still do it?

There are three types of distractions when driving. They are:

Visual — averting eyes from the road.

Manual — using hands for actions other than steering.

Cognitive — allowing thoughts to focus on tasks other than driving.

Some common distractions while driving include eating or drinking, texting or talking on the phone (including hands-free) and focusing too long on the radio, navigation, climate control or other systems. Even just talking to a passenger is a cognitive form of driver distraction.

Distractions while eating and drinking include visual and manual distractions. Texting, talking on the phone and focusing too long on the automobile’s various systems include all three types of distractions.

How do social media platforms exacerbate distracted driving? I googled “social media platforms and distracted driving,” and several incidents popped up.

About 10 years ago, an 18-year-old girl wanted to get her speed up to 100 mph so she could take a picture with Snapchat’s speed filter. Back then, a Snapchat filter posted how fast a user was going when snapping the photo. She crashed into another vehicle and seriously injured two people in the other car. She was later criminally charged with “causing serious injury with her vehicle” and pleaded no contest. Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, was sued and has since disabled its “speed filter.”

Consider Sarah Standifird, whose 28-year-old son was one of five people killed when Danny Tiner, who was driving a semi-truck on I-10, plowed into two cars, pushing them into another semi-truck and two other cars. Authorities say Tiner was watching TikTok videos on his phone seconds before the crash and was driving 68 mph in a 55-mph construction zone.

I have been made aware several times of a new driver taking a “selfie” while driving to post on social media. New driver, taking a selfie — how dangerous!

I repeat — if we are all aware of the dangers of distracted driving, why do we still do it? I have a few thoughts on what might be driving this dangerous practice.

In my years of work on the Traffic Safety Board and writing these weekly columns, along with the research involved, I realize that most drivers believe they are better drivers than others. Furthermore, drivers believe they can multitask. Put those two theories together and many drivers think they are capable of committing any number of distractions, individually or together, and still drive safely — until they can’t.

Another factor that likely contributes to the belief they are such good drivers is that they have been driving for years and not had a collision or even a ticket. This false degree of confidence fosters the belief that drivers can do anything without crashing — until they do!