We’ve all done it. No one can say they are 100% focused on the road, 100% of the time, while driving. It doesn’t matter if you are drinking your coffee as you sleepily try to make your way into work. It doesn’t matter if you are looking over at your kid to tell them to stop hitting their sister. And it doesn’t matter if you are fiddling with your radio. These are all forms of being distracted while driving.
The one thing that seems to pop up more and more lately is distracted driving due to mobile phone use. Guilty! I cannot say I don’t do this. Although I limit my cellular glances to when I stop at a stop light, the sound of my passengers saying, “the light is green!” is still present in my mind.
I am learning to be less distracted while driving. As should we all. The National Safety Council reported that there were more than 40,000 deaths from car accidents in 2017 — all from distracted drivers using their mobile phones. Over 10,000 people died due to alcohol-impaired drivers in 2016. Notice how many more were from people using mobile phones? That’s a pretty enlightening statistic.
Even more interesting? More than 330,000 people were injured in a car accident because of a distracted driver. Guess they were the lucky ones.
There are three forms of distracted driving: cognitive (when your mind isn’t fully focused on driving), visual (when you’re looking at something other than the road ahead), and manual (when you take one or both hands off the wheel for any reason). All three forms apply to cellphone use, especially when it comes to texting, which happens more often, and at longer intervals, compared to other forms of distraction. Answering a text diverts your attention for about five seconds; when traveling at 55 mph, that’s enough time to travel the length of an entire football field. WOW!
How Can You Be a More Attentive Driver?
- Watch out for pedestrians and cyclists – in both directions.
- Make adjustments to your vehicle systems (GPS, seats, mirrors, climate controls, radio, etc.) before you start to drive.
- Finish dressing and personal grooming at home, before you hit the road. No one likes the lipstick- or mascara-in-the-mirror trick.
- Eat meals or snacks before or after your trip, not while driving. Besides, what happens if you have to stop really fast and that food gets all over your clothes? Yuck!
- If you are going to drink a coffee or other beverage while you’re driving, wait until you come to a stop light or stop sign to take a quick sip.
- Secure children and pets before driving. Don’t look back at them and have conversations that take away your attention from the road. Wait til you get to your destination to engage.
- Minimize electronic distractions by storing devices such as smart phones or tablets in a safe location. If there’s a passenger in the car with you, maybe he or she can assist with reading messages and answering calls.
- Don’t get caught up in the gawk and squawk game. If there is some strange person walking down the street in a penguin suite, that doesn’t mean you need to only look at them as you are driving past them. Those few seconds focusing on anything other than the road is still detracting from your ability to keep your attention on the road. It only takes a split second for someone to pop over from the other lane and side swipe you. If you’re looking at the penguin on the sidewalk you won’t see them coming in time to react effectively.
I write like I think—fast, curious, and a little feral. I chase the weird, the witty, and the why-is-this-happening-now. From AI meltdowns to fashion glow-ups, if it makes you raise an eyebrow or rethink your algorithm, I’m probably writing about it. Expect sharp takes, occasional sarcasm, and zero tolerance for boring content.
