“I’ll just” is something that a lot of people think, or even say out loud, when driving. Examples may include, “I’ll just answer this call,” or “I’ll just check that piece of paper they gave me with their address on it.”
The fact that people often precede such actions with those words suggests they know they should not be doing them while they are driving. Yet in many cases, they go ahead anyway.
An accident can happen in seconds
If you have ever stood on a bridge over a road, you may have had the impression that the traffic was whizzing past underneath. You can clearly see how much ground a vehicle covers in a few seconds. You can visualize how easy it would be for a crash to occur if one driver drifted slightly out of their lane because they leaned down to reach something, or if a driver suddenly slowed, and the driver behind them did not notice their brake lights right away because they were looking elsewhere.
However, things do not seem so fast when you are inside a vehicle because you will usually be traveling at a similar speed to most of the other vehicles around you. It can therefore feel as if you have more time to do things, such as quickly reaching into your bag for something or checking a text.
If you were to get back on that bridge and watch yourself pass underneath as you attended to a quick task, you’d see how far you traveled in the time it took to complete the task and how easily that moment’s inattention could lead to a catastrophic crash.
Giving the road your full attention at all times is the safest thing to do — not least because you can guarantee that many other drivers you share the road with will succumb to the temptation to “just quickly” do something while driving. If you’ve suffered injuries in a crash caused by another driver’s distraction, having legal guidance can help you get the compensation you need to cover medical bills and other expenses and damages.
