By Dr. Brian McDonough

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – People whose minds wander while driving, especially when intense, are significantly more likely to be responsible for a crash and are threatening safety on the roads, according to a new study.

According to the report in the British Medical Journal, intense mind wandering was associated with 17% responsibility for traffic crashes in their particular study.

What was very interesting was they asked people what they were thinking about. It usually was either highly disrupted thinking, distracted thinking or essentially just zoning out, but all of them had a significant effect.

According to the study, we know that factors like alcohol and sleep deprivation play a role, but this mind wandering is also a key issue.