Don't think you don't get distracted

Drivers who use handheld devices while driving are four times more likely to be involved in a crash serious enough to injure themselves, writes Brian Byrne.

That's the sobering thought from US research, where road safety people are increasingly concerned about distracted driving, estimated to kill 3,300 a year there.

Text messaging while driving ups the injury ante considerably: the crash risk is 23 times greater, and sending or reading a text means driving 'blind' for the length of a football field.

The National Highway & Transportation Safety Agency says that at any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010.

Human nature is what it is, and there's no reason to think that the problem isn't any different on this side of the Atlantic.