Focus on the Road
By MS. ALLISON ELLIOT, STAFF WRITER
As a new driver, all your attention is on the road, trying to be aware of any dangers. As you become comfortable with driving, however, you may get complacent and divide your attention by reaching for your phone. Unfortunately, doing this may cause you to drive worse than you did at 15 or 16! Distracted driving has caused many accidents and deaths, so keep your eyes on the road and save phone usage for later.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),1 distracted drivers in the United States killed 2,841 drivers, riders, and pedestrians in 2018.
Drivers may cause accidents by using any of the following on their smartphones:
- Navigation (GPS)
- Music
- Texting/messaging
- Calls
- Browsing/scrolling
- Games
- Taking pictures
- Working
- Device management
- Other apps
Google Maps, Waze, and other apps make it possible to use your smartphone as a GPS while driving. Unfortunately, notifications may pop up and distract you, even if they are helpful messages alerting you to a lower speed limit or a slowdown in traffic. It is important to disable these before you hit the road or have an alert passenger close them out quickly. These apps can malfunction, resulting in the need to reset the GPS. If you do not have a passenger who can do this for you, it is best to pull over and stop before resetting the GPS. Also, to use the GPS, your phone needs to be on, which means messages and notifications from other apps can pop up on the screen, covering key navigational information. Disable these or rely on your passenger to take them down.
Apps like Spotify enable you to play music from your phone while driving, but what if a song comes on that you do not like? The best thing to do is to grin and bear it, have a passenger DJ for you, or pull over and change the music. It may take only one button to change a song, but it could take several seconds, and those are precious moments to have your eyes off the road.
Texting or messaging is the prime reason drivers tend to divert their attention. NHTSA explains that at 55 mph, you will have driven the length of a football field in the 5 seconds it takes to read or answer a text. While texting, drivers may hug one side of the lane, drive at an inconsistent speed, blow through lights, or drift into another lane. This distraction may result in hitting other cars or objects, driving into a ditch, or hitting pedestrians or a child running into the street. The heartbreaking documentary “From One Second to the Next,” directed by Werner Herzog, looks at the impact that texting while driving can have on other people, as well as the driver involved.
Although it may be less dangerous to engage in these activities while stopped at a red light, your attention is still required. The light may change from red to green, and you may only be alerted by angry horn honks behind you. If emergency vehicles need to come through the intersection, you may not hear a siren until it is right behind you due to today’s quieter cars.
Since cell phones became popular, drivers talking on cell phones have been a problem. Although talking on the phone usually does not require your sight—other than while dialing— it requires your ears and attention, and driving requires both of these. Humans are not great multitaskers, no matter how much you think you can juggle. Our brains need to focus on one thing at a time in order to perform well. Automated calls may require you to press numbers for different options during the call, which is worse than just talking on the phone. It is best to pull over to take the call or wait until you have reached your destination.
After several years, driving may become second nature and may even seem boring. Our relationship with smartphones has become second nature for many of us. At home, if you are bored, you may pick up your cell phone and browse through social media or news sites. Drivers tend to do this as well, thinking they can handle both the road and scrolling simultaneously. Rather than rely on your cell phone to ease your boredom, it is better to turn on the radio or listen to an audiobook.
As a society, we use smartphones to order food, look up coupons, take pictures and videos, or use voice-totext to jot down a reminder. You may want to start your Roomba to clean your house, check the door locks, set the temperature with Nest, and use other smart devices to manage your home. Whatever it is, it can wait.
Work and email tend to go hand-inhand for many of us. Except for those working on an “on-call” basis (and even then, it is best to pull over to take the call), working while driving is ill-advised. Our bosses may pressure us into attending a meeting from the road using a video app or answering an email, but no one will think you are unreasonable if you wait until you are off the road before using your phone. No good job will make you gamble with your life or others by asking you to work while driving. Be aware of the internal pressure you may put on yourself. This pressure is insidious and can lead to dangerous behavior. No matter what, it is best to refrain from working or emailing while driving.
Although it may be less dangerous to engage in these activities while stopped at a red light, your attention is still required. The light may change from red to green, and you may only be alerted by angry horn honks behind you. If emergency vehicles need to come through the intersection, you may not hear a siren until it is right behind you due to today’s quieter cars. If you had been paying attention, perhaps you would have seen the lights or noticed other vehicles moving out of the way. While scrolling on your phone, you may accidentally lift your foot from the brake and hit the car in front of you, or worse, roll into traffic. It is best to pay attention while driving and save phone usage for later.
You may not be aware that you and others are using your phone in these ways. The first step is to be informed of the problem, educate yourself on the consequences, and act accordingly. Other people on the road will thank you for it.