April is NSC's Distracted Driving Awareness month. In 2021 there were 3,522 lives lost due to distracted driving, all of which were preventable. That's 3,522 families who lost a loved one.
Most think of cell phone use first when it comes to distracted driving, but all of these activities also count:
- Infotainment centers on vehicles (music, navigation, and temperature controls)
- Eating or drinking
- Assisting passengers, especially children
Hands-free cell phone use has also found to not be a solution: the cognitive distraction from participating in a conversation with someone not physically present is still found to contribute to vehicle accidents.
Some of the best actions you can take to keep from distracted driving include:
- Setting all controls before beginning to drive. This includes seat adjustments, mirrors, music, and navigation settings.
- Setting your cell phone to 'driving' mode, or 'do not disturb.' Some cell phones will even let you set up an auto-reply function to texts. Setting this up with a polite auto reply, such as, "I'm currently driving and will reply to all messages once I've arrived at my destination," will give you peace of mind.
- Discussing with appropriately aged children that it's important to not distract you from driving. Plan for children's needs before starting out, by keeping accessible snacks and water available, and simple entertainment like books.
The next time you're tempted to take your eyes from the road, we hope you consider whether it's worth a life!
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