Distracted Driving

Do you find yourself adjusting the radio/cassette/CD player, talking with passengers, reaching for objects inside the vehicle, eating or drinking, managing children, reading maps, or using a cell phone while driving? These are some of a large group of activities, which distract from driving and contribute to automobile crashes.

Distracted driving, which includes cell phone use, is a major contributor to automobile crashes. Every day, between 4,000 and 8,000 crashes related to distracted driving occur in the United States. Over the course of a year, these crashes contribute to as much as one-half of the six million U.S. crashes reported annually.

Driving distractions are nothing new; they’ve been a topic of discussion since windshield wipers were introduced in the early 1900s.

Obviously, drivers are distracted when they take their hands off the wheel or their eyes off the road. Equally troubling is the fact that drivers are also distracted when they take their mind off driving — when they’re thinking about things other than the road in front of them and the vehicles around them. Whether talking on the phone or eating a sandwich in the car, drivers are distracted.

The increase in popularity of cell phones, highly publicized crashes involving distracted drivers, and the growing use of technology in motor vehicles have heightened concern about driver distractions.

It’s known that using a cellular phone while driving can increase your chances of being involved in a crash. However, using cell phones is only one of the problems. Hand-held cellular phones are at the heart of this debate because they are visible to other drivers. When you encounter a distracted driver and you notice a cell phone, you naturally blame the phone. There are other often less visible reasons for drivers being distracted, however, and it is more difficult to tell if a distracted driver was talking to a passenger, tuning the radio or eating.

Hands-free phones are not risk-free. The hands-free feature is simply a convenience measure, and does not increase safety. Studies show that hands-free cellular phones distract drivers just as much as hand-held phones. Why? Because it is the conversation that distracts the driver, not the device.

When it comes to the question of banning specific devices such as hand-held cell phones, two facts are clear: Banning hand-held phones, but allowing hands-free phones is likely to have little or no effect on safety. The distracting factor is the conversation, and not the device itself. And, certainly, we can’t legislate when and what drivers think about.

Banning hands-free phones use won’t address the larger problem — other distracters in the car, which are equally as distracting as cell phones. The bottom line is that as drivers, we need to keep our eyes on the road — and our minds on driving.

What Can We Do About Cell Phone Safety?

AAA recommends that drivers do not use their cell phones while driving. When using a phone is essential, drivers should follow these safety tips:

Tips for Safe Driving

• Recognize that driving requires your full attention.

• Before you get behind the wheel, familiarize yourself with the features of your cell phone.

• Use your phone only if it is absolutely necessary. If you must use your phone, do so at a safe time and place.

• Ask a passenger in the car to place the call for you and if possible, speak on your behalf.

• Plan your conversation in advance and keep your conversations short.

• Hang up the phone as soon as possible, especially in heavy traffic and hazardous weather conditions.

• Secure your phone in the car so that it doesn’t become a projectile in a crash.

• Remember, activities that take your mind and/or eyes off the road are dangerous.

• Safe driving requires you to stay focused and keep your mind on the road.

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Published in the May 2001 issue of the AAA Traveler.