Driving to distraction

If ever there was a theme song for driver distraction, it’s the song “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors, with the famous phrase: “Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel.” Whatever their 21^st-century soundtrack, drivers often find themselves multi-tasking on the road. Whether it’s talking on a cell phone, eating or drinking, adjusting the radio, or programming your GPS, it seems that driving is not always the top priority in the car.

A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of all near-crashes occurred when the driver looked away from the road seconds before the onset of the crash. Secondary tasks such as cell phone use, driving-related inattention such as checking blind spots, driving while drowsy, and other non-driving eye glances, such as reaching for an object, were contributing factors in 93 percent of crashes and minor collisions. The rate of crashes due to inattention was four times higher in the 18-20 age group than some of the older driver groups.

So, with all these distractions, how can you drive safely and reduce your risk for a crash? Here are some tips.

• Be familiar with your car. Before you drive off, be comfortable with the vehicle’s controls, such as the temperature or audio buttons, so that if you need to make a change you can do it without taking your eyes off the road. This is most important when borrowing a car or driving a rental.
• Minimize the conversation. If you need to make a call, get off the road completely or pull off to a safe place on the side of the road. Research indicates that whether it is a hands-free or hand-held cell phone, the distraction is significant enough to affect a driver’s performance.  This inattention can cause a driver to miss visual and audio cues needed to avoid a crash.
• Don’t eat or drink in the car. If you’re on a long trip, take a break and pull off to have a meal or snack. The rest can help your attention, replenish your energy, and benefit your circulation.
• Know where you’re going before you leave. If you’re using a GPS navigation system, program the directions before you take off. It may also help to use the voice-activated function, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road. If you are using a map or written directions, be familiar with where you need to go and pull over if you get lost, where you can safely look at a map.
• Leave the grooming at home. Give yourself more time before you leave your house to tend to personal grooming. Your car’s vanity mirror is not safe for shaving, applying makeup, or fixing your hair.
• Don’t text and drive. If you need to jot down notes, pull over. The same goes for text messaging with a handheld device.
• Make sure kids are settled. Check to see that children are properly secured and comfortable in the car before heading out. If you need to tend to them, stop somewhere instead of trying to reach to the back seat.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you are driving and remember The Door’s lyric can be your new motto for safe driving.

--Liza Barth

Comments

[Dave]

Speed limits are too low. That is one cause why people are not attentive. Try that in the autobahn. How about increasing the speed limits or implementing autobahn style speed limits?

[Matt]

People don't change their behavior for speed. And what text-while-driving person really follows the speed limit anyway? The solution rests with drivers' personal responsibility, not government regulations.

[Ozzy]

Any parent with half a brain wouldn't allow there teen to carry a cell phone while simply cruising around anyhow. The odds that they'll need one while learning how to drive "properly" are probably a million to one. I'm thinking that about half of the cellphones stuck to "Junior's" head are probably expired anyways, but it still looks So Cool! Get a clue, parents!

[Rocky Sayne]

I have a new 2008 Honda Accord EX. The headlights,and taillights flicker approximately every 30 seconds when the A/C or fan is on. This is a major distraction to the driver and others. Honda says this is normal.