* No friends in the vehicle at any time.
* No radio or music.
* No food or drink.
You see, I learned how to drive before the majority of technology related driving distractions were invented or at least before they were mainstream enough for my family to afford them. At one time, cell phones (or car phones and then the bag phones that followed) were considered a luxury. And they were costly, not only to purchase, but also to maintain due to the expensive monthly service and use fees.
photo from retrothing.com
Distracted driving is defined as any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Facts and Statistics. Available from http://www.distraction .gov/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html. Accessed February 2, 2015). These distractions include:
- Texting.
- Using a cell phone or smartphone.
- Eating and drinking.
- Talking to passengers.
- Grooming.
- Reading, including maps.
- Using a navigation system.
- Watching a video.
- Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player.
Amazing advances, yet these advances create another world of distracted driving for us.
Each day in the United States, more than 9 people are killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Facts and Statistics. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Distracted_Driving/ Accessed February 2, 2015).
What is being done about this? Many states are enacting laws, such as banning texting while driving, or using graduated driver licensing systems for teen drivers (http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Distracted_Driving/ Accessed February 14, 2015). Clear studies are not available on the impact that these laws and requirements have had on decreasing incidents involving distracted driving yet.
Remember, your life is too valuable !! The text will be there when you have a chance to pull over and safely read it !!