You wouldn’t think about drinking and driving, so why would you text and drive? Looking at your phone instead of the road could have the same tragic result. Taking just five seconds to read a message is like driving the entire length of a football field blindfolded.
Dangers of Texting and Driving
Distracted driving in the U.S. cost 3,308 lives in 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These figures were released as the NHTSA launched its new Put the Phone Away or Pay campaign to increase awareness of the dangers of distracted driving and alert the public to stepped-up enforcement. Distracted driving refers to any activity that diverts drivers’ attention from the road, and the biggest culprits are texting and talking on cell phones while driving.
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Download Now!The dangers of texting and driving remain a growing traffic safety problem according to the most recent Traffic Safety Culture Index. The survey, conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, found 93% of drivers believe typing or reading on a hand-held cellphone while driving very or extremely dangerous, but 38% admit to reading and 27% admit to sending a text or email while driving.
Just because you are stopped does not give you the green light to look at your phone. Using a hand-held device is illegal while driving and while stopped at a red light or stop sign in most states. And many drivers aren’t aware of the “hangover effect.” AAA Foundation researchers found that the brain does not reacclimate to the task of driving for up to half a minute after using smartphones or voice-to-text vehicle infotainment systems to send text messages, make phone calls or update social media. This could lead to inattention blindness, where your eyes are on the road but you’re not actually seeing what’s in front of you, which puts other drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians at risk.
How to Avoid the Dangers of Texting and Driving
AAA encourages all motorists to eliminate distracted driving by following these tips.
- Put it away. Place your mobile device out of sight to prevent temptation.
- Know where you’re going. If using a navigation system, program the destination before driving.
- Pull over. If you must call or text while on the road, pull off the road safely and stop first.
- Ask passengers for help. If riding with someone, seek their help to navigate, make a call or send a message.
- Be a good passenger. Speak out if the driver of your vehicle is distracted.
- Don’t be a distraction. Avoid calling or texting others when you know they are driving.
- Everyone should prevent being intexticated. Just as drivers need to pay attention, so do pedestrians and bicyclists. Never call, text or play games while walking or cycling.
- Activate Do Not Disturb or Driving Focus. Setting up these features on iPhone or Android device will prevent calls and texts from coming in while you’re driving.
How to Set a Phone to Do Not Disturb
The key to staying focused is to try to forget you even have a phone.
How to Set Do Not Disturb on iPhone
- Swipe down from the top right of your home screen to reveal the Control Center.
- Tap the Focus button. This automatically turns on Do Not Disturb. To turn off, tap again.
Driving Focus
- Go to Settings > Focus > Driving.
- Under Turn on Automatically, tap While Driving and select Automatically. This will stop incoming calls and texts when motion is detected.
How to Set Do Not Disturb on Andoird
- Swipe down from the top of your screen.
- Tap Do Not Disturb.
Driving Mode
- Go to Settings > Google > Personal Safety.
- Turn on Silence Notifications While Driving.
For more information on distracted driving and to take the pledge to put your phone down while driving, visit AAA.com/DontDriveDistracted.
This article has been updated and republished from a previous version.
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Raise the fines and include jail time. Make penalties severe enough and people might stop. $200 for first offense and $375 for second offense is too low and out of proportion compared to an injured driver or worse.
Please reread this story and pay attention to the section below. It explains the real problem. It doesn’t matter if you are holding the phone or not. If you are having a conversation on the phone that is what you brain is concentrating on.This happens even while talking to passengers although to a lesser degree.
If you need to be on the phone pull over ,find a parking lot.
“AAA Foundation researchers found that the brain does not does not reacclimate to the task of driving for up to half a minute after using smartphones or voice-to-text vehicle infotainment systems to send text messages, make phone calls or update social media. This could lead to inattention blindness, where your eyes are on the road but you’re not actually seeing what’s in front of you, which puts other drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians at risk.”
Driving with your dog on your lap with or without the window open is definitely a big distraction to your concentration as well as a visual distraction to both you and others that can reduce driving safety. This issue needs to be addressed and It should definitely be made illegal as well.
I’m also amazed and angry about the number of drivers with small dogs in their laps!
This is certainly distracted driving. I’m shocked that animal rights groups haven’t spoken
out about this dangerous habit.
Pulling out of a parking space the other day at city hall, someone almost backed into me; not paying attention; talking on his cell phone.
Cell-phone-while-driving laws are largely a feel-good joke. As long as people don’t have sense enough to pay attention while their driving (or as Bill posted, having their cute dog in their lap while driving) we’re on high alert to careless drivers.
I am also dumbfounded by the fact that people can eat while driving in their cars. To me, this is really a danger, given the the fact that drivers handle hot drinks, messy burgers, etc.
I agree. Watching someone perform highly skilled and agile maneuvers is dumbfounding. That’s why you shouldn’t try to do them at home. Leave them to the professionals.