Distracted driving has been on the rise in recent years. It is one of the reasons why traffic accidents happen, even to the point where someone would lose their life. To prevent this from happening to you and any of your passengers, we provide these following tips for you to be more attentive.
One event of being distracted, such as texting while driving, kills 11 teens a day. This is something that no family wants to deal with. Even if you are starting out as a young driver, it’s important to be aware of your surroundings so you can go from point A to point B safely.
Let’s take a look now at the following tips below so you know what to do:
Follow the laws of ‘texting while driving’
In 43 states and the District of Columbia, texting while driving is prohibited. Depending on where you live, there are penalties that will incur if you are cited for violating such laws. This exists in an effort to not only protect you, but also your passengers, fellow drivers, and anyone else that may be near you while driving.
The last thing you want to do is text while driving and end up in an accident involving yourself and someone else. Safety is paramount when it comes to driving.
Set your phone to driving mode
Many recent mobile phones have included a feature where you can set it to ‘driving mode’ or something similar. This means while you are driving, you will not receive notifications until you have reached your destination. Once you open up your phone, the driving mode is then shut off.
This is the perfect feature considering that when you hear notification tones going off, it will subconsciously force you to look at your phone and take your eyes off the road. If you are going 55 mph and look away for five seconds, you’ve already gone about 100 yards.
Just focus on the road
This sounds simple enough. Plus, it’s simple to do. All it takes is for you to focus on the road and be aware of your surroundings.
There’s nothing complicated about it. You’ll never know what will pop out in front of you. This can be a car deciding to cut you off, someone chasing a ball going into the road, or something else. Anything can happen at any place and any time.
It can happen in the path of where you are driving through. If you notice something happening, you want to be ready to slow down and stop. While you may not control what the other drivers or pedestrians are doing, you can control what you’re doing behind the wheel.
Do not be under the influence of any substances
While it is illegal to possess substances underage, being under the influence will lower your attentiveness. While it’s not really distracted driving per se, you’re not in the right frame of mind. You won’t be able to have that awareness of knowing what is around or in front of you.
Final Thoughts
If you are driving, your attention is required all the time. The last thing you want to do is take your eyes off the road. You want to pay less attention to your phone so you can get to where you need to be safely. You don’t want to face any penalties that come with violating texting while driving laws.
Even as a young driver, you may not be able to afford the stiff fines (which means your parents will need to foot the bill). Save yourself (and others) the frustration and headaches that come with distracted driving.
