The mind races at this time of year. There are gifts to be bought. There are family plans to be made. There are celebrations to plan. It’s enough to make a person’s mind scattered. Distractions, especially this time of year, are prevalent. Many aren’t thinking straight, and that can be dangerous.

At any busy Vicksburg intersection, notice the number of drivers talking away on their cell phones. Research has shown that the physical act of talking and driving is not the problem, but mentally keeping focused on both is difficult.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that drivers using mobile devices while driving were four times more likely to crash than those not, a higher rate than drivers with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit.

In addition, a University of Utah study found that drivers using cell phones were 9 percent slower in hitting the brakes and had 24 percent more variation in following distance. The Utah study reported that 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States annually are attributed to cell phone distraction.

“If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, his reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not using a cell phone,” said University of Utah psychology professor David Strayer. “It’s like instantly aging a large number of drivers.”

Of course, there is more going on than just distracted drivers. Over the opening weekend of hunting season, the weekend before Thanksgiving, a Neshoba County woman died in a hunting accident as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. Accidents also were reported in Hinds and Jasper counties.

Accidents will happen, it’s human nature. Accidents also are avoidable with preparation and focus. Thousands of hunters take to the woods during deer season and it is paramount to take the utmost caution.

Hunters are not immune to the distractions that come with the holiday season. The weapon they use is a firearm, as dangerous as an automobile if the driver is not paying attention.

Not only are the firearms dangerous, but getting in and out of tree stands poses hazards. In 2009-10, the Mississippi Department of Wildife, Fisheries and Parks reported 24 hunting-related incidents. Of those, nine were firearm-related with no fatalities. Fifteen were tree stand-related with one death.

We urge everyone to use a bit more caution in the coming weeks. The Christmas season is one of family and friends, celebrations and fellowship. We want everyone to have the absolute best season. To ensure that, try to put the distractions behind.