4 Facts About Distracted Driving

Distracted Driving

You might not realize it, but when it comes to car accidents, distracted driving is one of the primary causes. For example, out of the 2.5 million people that are involved in car accidents every year in the U.S., roughly 64% of those accidents involved a cell phone. Because there are so many more things that can distract a driver from their primary task of driving, April has been designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Types of Distracted Driving in California

There are three main types of distractions that can divert your attention while driving and lead to a potential accident:

  • Manual distractions: A manual distraction refers to something that causes you to move your hands away from the steering wheel. For example, if you’re eating a burger or drinking a beverage while driving, then you’re being manually distracted.
  • Visual distractions: A visual distraction refers to anything that causes you to take your eyes off the road. For instance, if you’re looking at directions for an address that you wrote down on a piece of paper.
  • Cognitive distractions: A cognitive distraction is something that causes your mind to wander. If you’re thinking about something else other than your task at hand, you could miss a turn or you could react slowly to someone braking in front of you.

Facts About Driving Distracted

The following are a few facts you should know about driving while distracted:

  1. Almost 25% of all car accidents in the U.S. are caused by texting while driving.
  2. You’re six times more likely to get into a car accident texting while driving than drinking and driving.
  3. If you’re texting while driving, your chances of getting into a car accident increase by 23 times.
  4. Reading a text will distract you for an average of five seconds. It takes an average of three seconds of distraction to get into an accident.

Don’t Drive Distracted

Distracted driving will significantly increase your chances of getting into an accident, so be sure to focus on the task of driving. For more safety awareness information, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Distracted Driving Awareness

Each year, about 1,300,000 people are killed in road accidents. This is a mind-numbing number of deaths for the worst reason in the world. This means that over 3,000 people die every single day due to collisions on the road.

Road accidents can happen anywhere in the world, and at any time. It is one of the most random, split second things that can ever occur. Everything can go wrong because of one tiny twitch of a hand at the wrong moment. People travel at such high speeds in the world now that nearly every accident is either fatal or leaves someone critically injured, or disabled.

Mobile phones and the road

People are now so used to mobile phones that they think that they can drive while using them. It doesn’t matter how mad you think your driving skills are, you still can’t text while driving. Unless you are capable of seeing and concentrating on two separate things with equal intensity, of course. This isn’t humanly possible, so you can put that thought away.

From texting to calling to using mobile navigation systems, people are always finding ways to use their mobile phones. It almost feels like they just can’t keep their paws off those screens, not even for the time it takes to drive from point A to point B every day.

No amount of justification makes it okay

People tend to give all kinds of excuses when they are asked why they text while they drive. For most, it is that some texts are too important to be ignored. However, as one grieving mother puts it, no text message is more important than your own life.

What can I do to stop myself and my kids from texting?

If you are a parent, there are a couple of things that you can do to stop yourself, and your teenagers from texting behind the wheel.

For your kids, there is something known as a drivecam, which records live video of what is going on in the driver’s seat, and sends you updates.

For everybody, there are apps on Android and iOS that block all text messages and all messaging platforms for the duration of the drive.

Learn More:Download

Your Health and Safety Matters!

Contact The Benefits Store today for you and your families Health Insurance needs!

Alcoholism Versus Alcohol Use Disorder: What’s the Difference?

Alcoholism Versus Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcoholism is a significant issue that still plagues the U.S. It’s estimated that there are roughly 95,000 alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. every year, making it the third-leading preventable cause of death in the entire country. It’s why the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) designated April as Alcohol Awareness Month back in 1987.

Despite the fact that more people are becoming aware of the dangers of alcohol dependence every year, there are still things that people don’t know about it. For example, few people understand the difference between alcoholism and an alcohol use disorder.

The Difference Between Alcoholism and an Alcohol Use Disorder

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, an alcohol use disorder refers to anyone who abuses alcohol or has a dependency on alcohol. There are also three classifications under which a person can be diagnosed as having an alcohol use disorder: mild, moderate, and severe. Symptoms of an alcohol use disorder include:

  • Being unable to limit how much you drink
  • Spending a significant amount of time drinking or getting more alcohol
  • Feeling strong urges to drink alcohol
  • Giving up social activities and hobbies as a result of drinking alcohol
  • Drinking alcohol in unsafe situations (such as while driving)
  • Experiencing symptoms of withdrawal when not drinking

It’s worth noting that being diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re an alcoholic. However, if you’ve been diagnosed with a severe alcohol use disorder, you can also be diagnosed as being an alcoholic. Alcoholics experience all of the symptoms of someone with an alcohol use disorder as well as:

  • Increasing tolerance to alcohol
  • The inability to stop drinking
  • Neglecting family and friends due to drinking
  • Continuing to drink despite experiencing negative consequences (such as being arrested in California for drunk driving)

Having an alcohol use disorder does not necessarily mean you’re an alcoholic. However, if you are an alcoholic, then you have a severe alcohol use disorder. To find out more about the dangers of alcoholism or about health awareness in general, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Preventing Sports Eye Injuries

How to Prevent and Treat Sports Eye Injuries

Different activities and sports have different levels of risk for eye injury. Make sure that you’re using the right kind of eye protection for each activity. Regular eyeglasses do not offer proper eye protection and in some cases can make an injury worse if they shatter.

Be careful during activities or games involving projectiles and other sharp objects that could create injury if in contact with the eye.

If you have an eye injury go to the emergency room immediately, even if the injury appears minor. Delaying medical attention can result in permanent vision loss or blindness.

Take the following steps to avoid sports eye injuries:

  • Wear proper safety goggles (lensed polycarbonate protectors) for racquet sports or basketball. In order to be assured that your eyes are protected, it is important that any eye guard or sports protective eyewear are labeled as ASTM F803 approved. This eyewear is performance tested to give you the highest levels of protection.
  • Use batting helmets with polycarbonate face shields for youth baseball.
  • Use helmets and face shields approved by the U.S. Amateur Hockey Association when playing hockey.
  • Know that regular glasses don’t provide enough protection

If You Get Hit in the Eye:

  • Gently apply a small cold compress to reduce pain and swelling.
  • Don’t use steaks or other food items. These can get bacteria into the eye.
  • DO NOT apply any pressure.
  • If a black eye, pain or visual disturbance occurs even after a light blow, immediately contact your ophthalmologist or emergency room. Even a light blow can cause a significant eye injury, like a retinal detachment.

Eye injuries can cause vision loss or blindness. That’s why having an ophthalmologist or other medical doctor examine the eye as soon as possible is important, even if the injury seems minor at first. DO NOT attempt to treat a serious eye injury yourself.

Learn More about Sports Eye Safety:Download

Your Health and Safety Matters!

Contact The Benefits Store for you and your families Vision Insurance needs!

Eye Safety: Protecting Your Vision During Sports

eye safety

Everybody loves sports, especially here in California; however, few people consider their eye safety when playing sports. Yet it’s estimated that more than 25,000 people are treated for a sports-related eye injury every year in the U.S. It’s no surprise when you consider how vulnerable the eyes are in almost any sport that involves physical contact (from basketball to boxing) or equipment (such as hockey sticks or tennis balls).

To help spread awareness about the importance of protecting your eyes while playing sports, April has been designated as Sports Eye Safety Month.

Eye Safety Tips

Injuring the area around your eye (or the eye itself) can cause significant damage and can even result in blindness in the affected eye. As such, it’s critical that you protect your eyes when playing sports. The following are a few tips that can help prevent eye injuries:

  • Always wear the proper equipment: If you’re playing baseball and you’re up to bat, don’t play without a helmet. The same goes for hockey and other sports that typically require safety equipment to be worn.
  • Use helmet face shields: Make sure that if you’re wearing a helmet, you also wear a face shield on that helmet. If a sport requires a helmet, it means that there’s a risk of injury to the head. However, most helmets don’t cover the eyes (such as baseball helmets), so be sure to wear a helmet that has a face shield.
  • Wear safety goggles: You should wear safety goggles when playing any sport that involves a ball of any kind, such as tennis or basketball. A tennis ball or a basketball to the face can cause serious damage to your eye or eye socket. It’s worth noting that sports goggles can also help shield your eyes from the sun’s glare.

If you don’t protect your eyes while playing sports, you could end up with a serious eye injury that may prevent you from playing your favorite sport in the future. Severe eye injuries can even lead to blindness, so be sure to keep eye safety in mind. For more safety awareness tips, visit us at The Benefits Store today.