The Ultimate Distracted Driving Guide: What It Is & How to Prevent It
Nine people may have died today because a distraction kept their eyes off the road.
Or, at least, nine is the average number of people who die from distracted driving daily. In reality, today, it could have been seven – or maybe it was 10. But no matter how many people died as a result of distracted driving today, it was too many.
Let this all sink in.
This isn’t some abstract concept. Most of us drive, and most of us have distractions. You check a text when we know it’s risky because you’re in the middle of a juicy conversation. Or you start digging in the backseat to find something that really should be able to wait.
These are mistakes we’ve all made.
But some people pay the ultimate price. And none of us are immune.
Fortunately, regardless of what we’ve done in the past, this fate is completely preventable.
What is Distracted Driving?
The name distracted driving is rather self-explanatory, but since this is such an important and life-saving topic, we need to cover some of the basics in detail.
Some people mistakenly think that distracted driving only applies to mobile phones. And it’s true that mobile phones (including texting, social media, and any other mobile-related distraction) are a major problem. But they aren’t the only problem.
Any time you aren’t delivering your full and undivided attention to the road while driving, you are guilty of distracted driving.
- Phone notifications
- Eating or drinking
- Putting on makeup
- Deep conversations with a passenger
- Taking photos or videos
- Changing music (especially changing the input or something more complicated)
- Navigating through GPS (either on your phone or car’s technology system)
- Posting on social media or checking your favorite sites
- If you do it all the time, you’re only increasing your odds of having a potentially fatal accident/
- What if you don’t realize traffic picked up because you were distracted? Another distracted driver is likely to barrel into your car because it’s not logical that you’re still at a standstill when everyone else is moving.
- Experience does make you a better driver, but it doesn’t give you carte blanche to be reckless.
- In the case of distracted driving, there isn’t safety in numbers. Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it safe. Remember, nine people are dying daily from this completely preventable cause.
- According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, it takes an average of 5 seconds to send a text. And in that time, you could drive the length of a football field at 55 mph. Imagine all that could happen in the distance between endzone and another without your eyes on the road.
- Even though 94 percent of teenage drivers admit to understanding the dangers of texting and driving, 35% of them do it anyway.
- When compared to non-distracted driving, teenage drivers are 8 times more likely to crash while dialing their phone and 4x more likely to crash when texting.
- 21% of teenage drivers involved in fatal accidents were texting or talking while driving.
- When you take your eyes off the road, you may inadvertently swerve into another lane. You’re probably aware of what’s on the road ahead before you remove your eyes from the road, but when you look in another direction, you may sometimes turn the wheel in that direction. This is especially true when you’re reaching across the passenger seat or in the back seat.
- Another driver, animal or pedestrian may do something to put you in danger. In the blink of an eye, something may change. You may instantly find yourself in a situation where you need to react quickly. If your attention is elsewhere, you may not have enough time to react.
How to prevent texting while driving
Have you ever heard of the “X the text” movement? This campaign began with AT&T, and it aimed to offer an alternative to texting and driving.
The idea was to send a short response of: #X whenever you get a text while driving. And it’s definitely a better alternative to reading and responding to texts while you’re driving.
But today, there are even better alternatives that will automatically send messages on your behalf. This way, you never have to pick up your phone.
One way you can do this is by turning on an auto-reply every time you get behind the wheel.
How to setup an auto-reply while driving on an iPhone
On an iPhone, you can do this in your Do Not Disturb settings” target=”” style=”box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; font-weight: inherit; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: var(–color-primary-500-alpha-2);”>Do Not Disturb settings. Scroll down to Auto Reply and tap it. Scroll down and set Do Not Disturb While Driving. This mode will automatically turn on whenever you’re in a car that starts accelerating, so you may have to turn it off when you’re a passenger.
How to setup auto-reply while driving on an Android
If you have Google Pixel or Android Auto, you have options for setting an auto-reply while driving. The rest of us still must rely on an app – but it can be done.
There’s a free app called Driving Detective that will automatically turn on your auto-reply message while you’re driving. All you have to do is download the app from Google Play and give it Do Not Disturb access.
Tips for maintaining better focus while driving
So, we’ve covered the dangers of distracted driving and how to avoid them – especially how to avoid texting while driving.
But sometimes, you may not always be aware that distractions are keeping you from focusing on the road. Fortunately, there are some best practices for maintaining better focus while driving.
Here are some tips to help keep your focus on the road.
- Keep your eyes where you’re going – Don’t just look at the road, look in the precise direction you’re going. In most cases, it’s straight ahead of you on the road.
- Turn your cell phone off or on Do Not Disturb Mode – The cell phone is one of the biggest distractions, and it’s especially a problem whenever the notification sound goes off. If it’s off or on Do Not Disturb, you’re removing the temptation to check your phone.
- Face your tardiness head on – No one wants to be late. But if you truly can’t help it and find yourself in a situation where you’re rushing, take a deep breath before you get into the car. Send a text or place a phone call to let someone know you’re going to be late. Then, put on your makeup at home and drive the speed limit. Don’t try to multitask while driving to save time.
- Get everyone set before you put the key in the ignition – If you have kids in the back seat, make sure they have everything they need before you start driving. Take a few extra minutes to make sure your kid can reach everything he or she may want or need during the drive.
- Check directions before you leave – Even if you are going to rely on GPS to get you where you’re going, check the route before you leave. If the GPS takes you off track or is set on the wrong destination, you may not realize until you’re too far off track. And once you realize you’re off track, you’re likely to scramble for your phone and split your attention between driving and navigating.
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