We are all familiar with the dangers of multi-tasking but few of us really understand it. We think that we can multi-task, and as long as we are looking at the roadway, everything will be fine. That is why we see the popularity of hands-free devices but this reveals our misunderstanding of multi-tasking. The trouble does not lie in the task of looking, but the attention resources that are taken away from us when we do the activity.
Driving (and just about anything else we do) will draw on the already limited awareness that our brain has. The more our brain does, the worse it will do each task. Our awareness is limited and recent data showing similar dangers with hands-free devices shows us just that.
The above tip is excerpted from an upcoming column by Travis Yates which will appear on Police1 on Monday, November 15, 2010. If you have a tactical tip to share with fellow officers on Police1, send us an email.
