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?
I plug-in pair my phone to my head-unit in my Element or blutooth it to the Geo. However Google axed phone-only Android Auto which makes roadtripping in my LTD a more phone-involved job than I’d like it to be, juggling between maps and music.
A friend of mine puts youtube videos on with his phone propped up behind the steering wheel, I wish I was joking. After seeing him do that it made sense why he rejected my offers of installing one of my older dashcams for free in his car.
Adderall. It’s mine; I have a Rx for it.
Seriously, as a life long ADHD’er, distractions while driving can be a real problem. I’m one of those people who needs to turn the music off when I’m looking for someplace, especially in city driving. I turn off my center screen at night and keep my phone mounted at the edge of my peripheral vision. If I can interact with my phone by voice, I’ll do that, (“Hey Siri, tell partner I’ll be home in ten minutes”) but texting and such is reserved for when I’m not actually driving.
For long highway drives, where visual clutter isn’t so distracting, audiobooks and my own thoughts keep me engaged. Solo road trips are the best, especially when I get into the flow state where you’re listening to something good, the world is moving around you, and you lose track of time until you need gas or a PP stop. Flow is crack for ADHD’ers, and I can handle up to about 12-14 hours of highway driving before fatigue shows up.
I listen to very up-tempo music and keep a constant running commentary going regarding the driving skills of everyone else on the road. A quick internal complement to the guy who moves over to let someone else pass. A quick internal “whaddanasshole” to the guy who cuts someone off. A quick internal “I know you’re getting ready to cut over two lanes and right into me so I’m slowing down a tick, you dick” to the guy who does that. It’s not like I’m a perfect driver, of course, but the constant over-judging of everyone else does keep me on my toes.
Roll down the window!
in my Miata, go topless and row the gears while I drive it like I stole it.
I’d rather hear the exhaust than the radio.
Easy. I do not own a cell phone and I drive a stick-shift. It doesn’t get much more focused than that.
As an old school guy
I don’t mate my phone with any car even mine
I don’t worry about syncing I listen to whatever is on the radio
I pump it loud
I caffeine load
I don’t stop till I need gas so needing to pee helps
No distractions just drive. I usually have no problem until about 16 hours.
I am in Houston, Texas, home to some of the worst drivers in the country. Half of them are looking at their phone WHILE DRIVING. Since Covid, we also have a large amount of red light runners. These folks aren’t running a red that’s 1/2 a second old; they’re running a red that’s been red for 3, 4, or 5+ seconds. They are either f-ing with their f-ing phone, or they just don’t give an f. So, to anwer your question, REMEMBER THE IDIOTS. One has to be on the lookout for all of this crap. First, don’t be the first car in an intersection, and when you do venture into an intersection, look back and forth while doing it. Second, look out CONTINUALLY for the idiots drifting in and out of lanes, changing lanes without seeing you, cutting across 5 lanes to make a freeway exit. You get the idea. Knowing these morons are out there is enough to keep me engaged always while driving.
Didn’t have that when I worked in Houston lived in Katy and flew out every other week before COVID. The only issue was 6 lanes available and everyone was in the 2 right lanes.
I CANNOT stand Houston drivers, and I’m there somewhat frequently. I’ve never met so many untalented and yet aggressive people.
Ditto. I lived in Beaumont for six years and I hated heading that way. Especially on two-lane105 with a speed limit of 75 and no protection from some idiot going in the other direction straying into your lane. Happened more than once in my time there.
How about: I don’t want to die or, worse, be without my car for three weeks. That keeps me motivated to pay attention. Or, in my old-ass car, I’ll have to buy a new car while getting a shitty settlement for its being totaled.
Since I’m well-aware, I’m more concerned about other distracted drivers, which I guess can also be somewhat distracting.
Having a well-familiar car is extremely helpful. Know where things are and can reach for them without looking away. I have a remote for the audio. I know where it is, I know which keys are the volume.
I know it probably gets echoed here a lot but driving with a manual made me a substantially better and more aware driver. Even in automatic cars I just feel the need to keep my right hand free. But inherently I try to keep an eye on any potential mishaps ahead anyway and also wish death to tailgaters.
I’ve always contended that motorcycle riding makes one a better driver. We learn to trust no one. On long trips I’ve found that music, no matter what kind, will put me to sleep. The comedy channels keep me awake. Conan O’Brien is my friend.
Good thing, too. I hear he needs a friend. Will probably listen to some on the way to Palm Springs tomorrow.
Didn’t they name a car after it? Ford Focus 😛
Carplay helps, phone stays in my pocket, I also take a more scenic route to work, top speed limit 45, carspotting along the way. I think the license plate game and slug bug keep me looking at traffic not spacing out.
Seriously, driving alone. Just being honest here among friends, my driving gets measurably worse with someone else in the car.
I’ve noticed this as well, but the flipside for me is that when I’m starting to get fatigue or am just super tired, the act of talking makes it almost disappear
Let’s rewind to 2006, before smartphones existed. Someone texting and driving nearly killed two of my friends when they crossed the center line and killed the Vibe when it hit a ditch and rolled several times avoiding her. I’ve also averaged a car accident a year, none of which were my fault, since moving to Houston. One led to several bruised ribs when a lady on a phone didn’t even slow for stopped traffic and rear-ended us hard enough we hit the car in front of us, trying to exit 45. Another was not a distracted driver (guy didn’t even own a cell phone) and that totaled my Civic and led to the life-altering concussion I am still not 100% recovered from over a year later. There have been dozens of near misses over the years, either from people (including me) being tired or distracted by something on the road or, in their case, a phone.
I don’t do social media and if I get a text while driving, I ignore it. If it’s important, they’ll call me and I can hit a button on my steering wheel to answer. I turn on music before the car is out of P and it stays on that playlist until I stop. I spend most of my time checking my mirrors and scanning the road for erratic drivers or things on the road so I have enough time to react. My car doesn’t have a touchscreen and it’s a pretty small screen to begin with, and Mazda mounted it high so if I have to glance at GPS, my eyes don’t leave the road. I also really enjoy driving and most of the time my car is in M, so I have to pay attention no matter what.
I think the more sleep you get, the better your chances of recovery are.
I believe this is critical.
You may need a lot of sleep, and you may always need more than average.
In recovery, you may be sleeping most of the time.
This is absolutely true. I try to sleep 9-10 hours a day. 8 is the floor for being functional. I work third shift, four 10s, so sometimes (like today) I’ll go to bed around midnight and try to sleep until my alarm goes off at 5 PM. Usually go straight to bed when I get home at 7:30. Fridays I don’t have an alarm set and sometimes will sleep 12-14 hours.
I hope things get better.
Gum.
I hate it, but it works.
As a twenty-something, I learned that people in Singapore can be caned for discarding gum on sidewalks and was filled with outrage over such a draconian punishment… and I didn’t like gum then, either.
As a thirty-something, I got some nice shoes to wear at work and, after having to scrape yet another gob of Hubba Bubba off my loafers, corporal punishment seemed more fair.
But I have to admit that nothing keeps me from starting to nod off behind the wheel like jawing away at gum. I recently drove from Boise to Sacramento on three hours of sleep and it was a lifesaver (but chewy and without the hole).
100 percent accurate. Gum works, I drive a shuttle over 100 miles each way way to PHX and gum keeps me focused. I prefer eclipse in the green pack. Long lasting flavor. I also like a watermelon flavored one I found on clearance don’t recall the brand.
I find driving a manual helps, particularly a turbocharged manual because it is better to downshift if you are going uphill to prevent lugging.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, driving a 2001 F250 is also a good way to pay attention. When driving a large, heavy, vehicle with an old school steering gearbox and a solid front axle with leaf springs, you have to constantly pay attention to where you are in the lane and make small corrections. Otherwise it might wander into the next lane.
Yep. That’s been the case when I’ve had to drive old trucks.
You also don’t have nearly as much margin to evade a disaster once it’s upon you, so you’re looking out more often for potential things that could happen: traffic ahead stopping suddenly, someone veering into your lane, a pedestrian jaywalking across busy or fast-moving traffic, wildlife in the road, etc…
Whereas my Golf R is small and darty and light-footed enough to side-step the overwhelming majority of accidents and incidents…but even then, I’ve got to pay attention.
Don’t be sleepy, don’t have conversations with people in the car or outside of the car when I’m not paying extra attention to the road, otherwise I don’t have problems staying focused behind the wheel.
Small fun roads help me. If I drive on the highway, after one hour I’m bored out of my mind and start day dreaming or getting drowsy.
On a mountain road I only stop if I really have to pee! I drive with good pace, still keeping a safety margin (I’d say I’m at about 6/10 of my abilities), and that forces me to focus while having fun. My mileage takes a hit but it’s worth it.