(Newswire.net — May 28, 2019) — Ever since people became inseparable from their smartphones, driving has become extremely dangerous. Accidents have always been a possibility, but today’s drivers are heavily distracted by smartphones. Distracted drivers are causing fatal crashes, many of which can be prevented.
1. Most driving distractions are preventable
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 3,450 fatalities resulting from distracted drivers in 2016. Nine percent of distracted drivers involved in those fatal crashes were teenagers aged 15-19. Today’s driving distractions aren’t what they were 20 years ago. Teenagers are more likely to be distracted by other passengers and smartphones than anything else.
It’s easy to prevent being distracted by a smartphone while driving. Either turn the phone off, mute all notifications, or ignore incoming messages. In theory, it should be easy, but actually turning it off or choosing not to engage is the challenge. Smartphones have people trained to pick them up and reply the moment they hear the notification bell; it’s a sound difficult to ignore even when driving.
When a smartphone is being used as a GPS, it’s even harder to prevent distractions. It’s too easy to switch screens to check incoming text messages. If you can’t ignore incoming texts, it’s best to get a separate GPS device.
Smartphone distraction is only preventable when you take the steps to ensure you won’t be distracted by your device.
2. Even innocent accidents can be prevented with vigilance
Most car accidents are caused by one of nine avoidable mistakes:
- Distracted driving
- Fatigued driving
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Speeding or driving too fast for current conditions
- Failing to yield or stop when required
- Reckless driving
- Failing to account for weather
- Tailgating
- Failure to maintain the vehicle
Most of these mistakes are preventable with a little effort. For example, turning off your phone prevents the temptation to respond to texts while driving. Starting a long drive home before you get too tired will prevent you from driving while fatigued. Driving a bit slower in the rain and snow will give you more time to stop. To stay on top of your car’s maintenance needs, you just need to put it in your calendar.
Be vigilant
Have you ever accidentally run a stop sign, or changed lanes without looking? You probably didn’t do either on purpose, but mistakes happen. Hopefully, you didn’t cause an accident. Still, these innocent mistakes can be prevented with a little vigilance.
Make it a habit to bring your full attention back to the road before changing lanes. Drop the habit of rolling through stop signs when you don’t see anyone coming. Train yourself to come to a complete stop, so if you happen to be distracted when approaching a stop sign, you’ll be less likely to cause an accident by rolling through.
3. You can stop someone from driving under the influence
There is no reason for anyone to get behind the wheel when they’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If you have a friend who can’t refrain from driving under the influence, you have the power to step in and stop them from driving.
Anytime you get together with someone you know will attempt to drive drunk, make a deal with them to give up their keys before they start drinking. If they won’t willingly give them up, find a way to confiscate them before they get too drunk. It shouldn’t be your responsibility, but in the moment, you might be the only one who can prevent a tragedy.
Don’t justify someone’s decision to drive drunk by saying things like, “they just live a few miles away, they’ll make it home okay.” Or, “they’ve done it before, they’ll be fine.” Plenty of people have left parties drunk, only to crash into a tree. Some don’t make it out alive. Other drunk drivers end up killing pedestrians in residential areas going less than 20 MPH.
4. Most driving mistakes are made while zoning out
When you drive a car for a while, it’s easy to zone out. For many, driving is relaxing. For others, it’s the monotony of the daily commute that makes them zone out. Either way, zoning out takes your attention off the road.
Driving is routine, but you can’t let it become a background task. Driving safely requires your full attention at all times. Some accidents can never be prevented, but with a little effort, you can mitigate most of the distractions that lead to preventable fatal crashes.