Driving Plan

Driving
Plan

By:
Michelina Hanlon

The
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently estimated that Americans
spend a total of 70 million hours driving over the duration of a year
— and this number is trending upwards: we now spend an average of
20 minutes longer in the car each week than we did in 2014. The
consequences of this trend is increased exposure to the dangers of
the driving. A pervasive danger on the road today is distracted
drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, distracted driving caused 3,166 fatalities in 2017.

Texting
and driving is often the “poster child” for distracted driving,
but in reality, distracted driving takes many forms. Anything
that makes your brain focus on something other than driving is a
distraction and should be minimized to the extent possible.

Preparation
is key in preventing distracting driving. Whenever you enter your
car, you should set yourself up for success on your road trip.
Buckling your seat belt, checking your mirrors, adjusting your seat
(especially if someone else has been driving the car), and setting
the AC and radio are the basics, but there are so many other
precautions you should take to avoid being distracted while driving.
The acronym “BE
SAFE” can
help you remember six key ways to prepare yourself for safe driving.

BEAUTIFY
BEFOREHAND. Grooming
in the car (i.e., brushing hair, doing makeup, etc.) is a common
driving distraction that requires looking away from the road. Even if
you only look in the mirror for five seconds, if you are driving 55
mph, you will have traveled the length of a football field during
that time.

ENTER
DESTINATION. Using
a navigation system is one of the most common causes of distraction.
While having a navigation system can be extremely helpful, some
preparation is necessary in order to ensure your safety while
driving. Make sure your navigation is set up properly and turned on
before you start driving. If your navigation system is on your phone,
purchase an attachment that allows your phone to be suspended on the
dashboard so you don’t have to look down to check your directions.

SILENCE
AND STASH YOUR PHONE. Make
sure your phone is silenced completely. A study published in the
Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2015 found that hearing your
phone ding or buzz, even if you don’t use it, hinders your
performance in cognitive tasks. Additionally, unless you are using
your phone for navigation, it is better to have your phone tucked
away altogether. According to a study published in the Journal of
Association for Consumer Research, having your phone in a room with
you, even if it is silenced, hurts your performance on a task.
Therefore, when possible, you should place your phone in a closed
compartment or somewhere out of sight when you get in your car.

Even
if you forget to silence and stash your phone, you should never use
it while you are driving. Texting while driving has contributed
greatly to distracted driving fatalities. Additionally, talking on
the phone is a distraction, even in a hands-free situation.
Performing an auditory task like talking on the phone results in less
visual awareness, crucial for driving. Some drivers feel they are
being safe if they only use their phone at red lights, but even using
your phone during a red light affects driving abilities for up to 27
seconds after putting it down.

Important
note: Some people use their phones while driving because they fear
the consequences of not being available to their employer at all
times. If you are concerned about being reachable by your boss,
parents, kids, or spouse, set up an auto-reply that notifies people
that you are driving when you receive a call or text message. For
example, Apple currently has a “Do Not Disturb While Driving”
feature on the iPhone that will generate an auto-reply, or you can
customize the message it sends.

ADMIT
YOU CAN’T MULTITASK. Talking
to passengers is very commonplace and accepted today. However,
talking to a passenger or having a conversation on the phone have
been shown to have similar distracting effects on drivers. It is
important to use good judgment to decide whether you feel confident
enough to have a side conversation. Create clear boundaries for
yourself as the driver and ask your passengers to respect your
judgment if you feel that you need quiet to concentrate on the road —
don’t be afraid to admit that you cannot multitask.

FILL
UP YOUR FOOD TANK. Eating
and drinking (obviously non-alcoholic beverages) while driving is a
common distraction. Take the time to not rush and enjoy your meal
distraction free before driving. If you are going to take a few sips
of a drink while you drive, it should be from a closed container, so
it does not accidentally spill and cause a distraction. You should
also ensure that the container does not obstruct your vision when you
drink from it. If you absolutely need a snack, make it easily
accessible and unwrapped, ready for easy consumption — already cut
pieces of fruit, a bag of nuts, or a few carrots would be good
choices. Most importantly, both hands should always be available for
driving and you should not have to take your eyes off of the road to
eat or drink.

EVALUATE
ENTERTAINMENT. Listening
to music while driving has been researched, but no clear conclusions
have been reached. In a simple driving scenario, music is probably
safe. However, in a more intense driving situation, it is better to
turn it off and focus solely on driving. In all circumstances, the
music should not be so loud that you cannot hear an ambulance or a
car honk. For the same reasons, any type of earphone should never be
worn.

Listening
to audiobooks/podcasts in the car is becoming more popular, with 32%
of people who listen to audiobooks reporting that they do so in their
car. This raises some concerns, as it diverts some of your attention
away from driving. However, listening to plain speech does have some
merits. There is some evidence that people with high executive
functioning perform driving tasks better when listening to an
audiobook, possibly because it protects them from the boredom and
fatigue of driving. However, in particularly complex driving
situations, listening to audiobooks does become dangerous and should
be avoided. You should be able to quickly turn off your audiobook
without looking down if driving becomes unexpectedly difficult.

The
most important fact to remember is that driving is a serious
responsibility which requires constant concentration in order to keep
you, your loved ones, and other citizens safe. So go out there and BE
SAFE!

Sources

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NHTSA,
8 May 2019, www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving.

Caird,
Jeff K., et al. “Does
Talking on a Cell Phone, With a Passenger, or Dialing Affect Driving
Performance? An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of
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Human
Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society,
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Preventive
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MarketWatch,
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www.marketwatch.com/story/millennials-engage-with-their-smartphones-more-than-they-do-actual-humans-2016-06-21.

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| Naked Scientists,
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Hours Behind the Wheel.”
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