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It was my fault as much as it was his. I work with safety professionals and hear the statistics every day. Yet there I was in my own little world, rushing to get home and not paying attention to the other drivers on the road. That’s how I ended up forced into the median at 60 mph. Actually, it wasn’t a median, but a generous swath of extra asphalt between the grass median and the left-hand lane. Had I gone all the way into the grass, I’d probably be in the hospital — or the morgue — instead of writing this article.

Have you ever played back things in your head and recalled details that previously escaped you? I realized later that the other driver had a phone to his ear. I hadn’t considered it when I eased into the passing lane to go around him because he wasn’t weaving or showing the other signs of a distracted driver. The truth is, I hadn’t noticed because I was in a hurry. In other words, I was just as distracted as he was. I just didn’t have a phone to my ear.

This near miss was the result of the proverbial “perfect storm.” Had a maroon sedan not pulled onto the highway when it did, the driver who almost hit me wouldn’t have veered into my lane just as I drew even with him. The maroon sedan was well ahead of us and had plenty of clearance. It wasn’t like the guy on the phone had to slam on his brakes. He didn’t even have to slow down, but at 60 mph, he eventually would. So, without looking, he steered the nose of his car into my lane. I wasn’t in his blind spot. Had he bothered to look, he’d have seen me right beside him. But he didn’t look — very likely because he was distracted by his phone conversation. By the same token, had I not been staring straight ahead, fixated on getting home, I would have anticipated his next move.

There are three main types of distraction:

• Visual – taking your eyes off the road
• Manual – taking your hands off the wheel
• Cognitive – taking your mind off what you’re doing

Texting is considered the most dangerous type of distracted driving because it combines visual, manual and cognitive distraction. However, other distractions, such as eating, drinking, talking with passengers or even daydreaming — which I was guilty of doing — can be just as deadly. In fact, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, driver distraction contributed to 11 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes. In 2022, distracted driving claimed 3,308 lives and resulted in an additional 289,310 injuries.

Like I said earlier, I know those stats. The fact is that I was complacent behind the wheel of my vehicle going 60 mph on a multilane highway filled with other potentially complacent drivers. My back was hurting, I was hungry and I was driving on a familiar stretch of road, so I allowed myself to think about what I was going to do instead of what I was doing.

I was doubly blessed that day that I wasn't killed or injured. Thanks to some anonymous highway crew, I had extra asphalt when I saw the distracted driver’s fender coming at me. At the time, it felt like we were just inches from colliding. In reality, we probably had a full 2 feet of separation, but only because I had room to get out of his way. As suddenly as it began, this near-miss incident was over, with the distracted driver back in his lane and me in mine. To anyone else on the road, it likely appeared that nothing had happened. I can’t speak for the other driver, but my hands were gripping the steering wheel and my breathing was shallow for the next several miles.

I grew up hearing the slogans, “Drive Defensively” and “Watch Out for the Other Guy.” That day, I forgot that advice and it almost cost me everything. Driving requires your full attention. An accepted rule of thumb is that drivers make an average of 200 decisions every mile. Take it from me, every one of those decisions is more important than whatever you have planned later. If you don’t pay attention on the road, there may not be a later.

FYI

Thousands of people are killed and hundreds of thousands more are seriously injured in distracted driving crashes each year. During Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which is observed each April, get free National Safety Council resources to limit these risks and help create safer roads for all. Visit https://www.nsc.org/road/distracted-driving-awareness-month to learn more.