The world is full of distractions. Interstates are littered with flashy billboards that are designed to get your attention. Modern cars have giant tablets that lock many functions of the vehicle behind menus. Most people carry a powerful computer in their pockets full of text messages and social media. In short, it can be very difficult for many people to keep their eyes on the road.
Each year, there are more than five million car crashes in the United States. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that 40,901 people died in crashes in 2023. Contributing factors to these crashes are alcohol use, excessive speed, lack of seatbelt use, reckless driving, distracted driving, and more. IIHS reports that 3,143 drivers were distracted during a fatal crash in 2023. Many of these people were using phones, interacting with their passengers, eating, or just daydreaming behind the wheel. In decades past, you might have seen someone reading a newspaper while stuck in traffic. Today, that person might be scrolling through social media.
The good news is that, per IIHS, motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people and per 100 million miles have steadily gone down over the past 50 years, albeit with an unfortunate spike after the COVID-19 pandemic. Cars are safer than ever and have technologies that try to protect as many people as possible. But tech only goes so far. At the end of the day, the buck stops with you.
My wife recently rear-ended a car after she, by her own admission, got distracted. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the crash, so she has the chance to learn from her lesson, and this has me thinking about effective ways to reduce the chances of driving distracted.
My methods are simple. My phone does nothing but stream music and directions to the vehicle’s stereo or infotainment system. If I get a text, email, or Slack message, it’s going to wait until I park somewhere. I’m also such a cheapskate with my car choices that none of them have infotainment screens or touch-capacitive buttons.
When I do drive a newer car, I set things up before departing and try not to look at the screen at all. Of course, this can be difficult in vehicles where everything from climate settings to lighting is locked behind a menu – or a few. Honestly, it is a bit wild that authorities are deeply concerned about people looking at their phones, but pretty much every car has a giant iPad on its dashboard now.
Another lesson that has helped me is what I learned in motorcycle training and again in flight school. That lesson is to always be looking for dangers and ways to escape them. This keeps your eyes on the road because you are watching what the other cars are doing, and you are looking ahead for road debris, potholes, or other dangers. Likewise, you’re looking for an escape in case an emergency occurs.
In a plane, I scan the sky for other aircraft and birds, and I scan the ground for a safe place to land in case something happens to the aircraft.
In a car and especially when riding a motorcycle, I’m scanning the road for debris or breakdowns and the like, and noting other drivers’ behavior so I might anticipate what they’ll do. If I spot a pickup with a precarious load, I make sure I have room for evasive maneuvers should a loveseat suddenly be deposited onto the highway.
I think what helps me the most is that I find driving enjoyable, so I have no real motivation to daydream, stare at a phone, or anything like that. Driving the vehicle is my fun. Sure, I’ll play music, but that’s about it.
So, how about you? How do you keep from getting distracted?
The post How Do You Stay Focused When You’re Behind The Wheel? Autopian Asks appeared first on The Autopian.
