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?
Being in the mindset of “I’m controlling a two ton machine that can seriously injure or kill someone” when I step behind the wheel. Also stopping every few hours to take a break on trips. Yes it adds time. I feel so much better at the end of the trip it’s worth it. Using those breaks to change the tunes or pop in navigation changes. And offloading as many of the non-driving tasks to the front seat passenger on trips as possible.
Stopping for rest breaks is a big one that I am very bad at. I usually just drive until the tank is empty or the bladder is full and that usually means quite a few hours in the seat without a break.
My new (to me) DD is an EV so that’ll force me to stop more often and for longer so I’m looking forward to seeing how that turns out on longer trips.
The more frequent breaks on road trips is a new thing for me. I would frequently drive 4, and some times up to 6 hours on trips without stopping. Recently I reassessed all of that, realized it’s pretty stupid to rush like that, and now I usually stop once every 2-3 hours. It’s made trips far less stressful.
“Display Off” on the infotainment screen is my best defense against distraction. I especially like that setting at night.
Driving between SE and SW Michigan on I-94, playing Dave and Chuck the Freak on 101.1FM WRIF Detroit from the previous day keeps me awake and alert.
I’ll wave next time I pass you on 94. 🙂
In decades past, you might have seen someone reading a newspaper while stuck in traffic. Today, that person might be scrolling through social media.
Today, that person scrolling is driving a three row SUV down the interstate at 80mph.
Rob Ford was notorious for reading the newspaper while doing about 70 km/h in traffic: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/busy-rob-ford-admits-to-reading-while-driving-1.1278580
In the NA Miata fear keeps me focused.
Miata In America Triggers Anxiety
I had a 90 Miata for awhile, and two MK1 MR2’s. Can relate.
Mostly its just the basic defensive driving tactics. Watching what other people are doing and making a quick guess about what they might do next, keep a reasonable following distance, looking at least a few seconds ahead, and, most important, don’t be screwing around with phones/screens/dials/buttons when driving near anything. Just scanning around is enough to keep me engaged most of the time.
I just picked up my first car that has modern driver assist tech so that’s taking some time to figure out how to use that to my advantage without being a distraction in itself. So far, the fancy-pants adaptive cruise and lane keeping is pretty slick in that it makes it easier to focus farther ahead. But, I can see how it increases the chance of complacency and dependency on an imperfect tech so that’s a challenge.
I haven’t carried a cell phone for several years now… since before the pandemic, and even then, it was strictly a work phone and it was only on when I was at work/on call.
I won’t lie: once in a while, it’d be handy to have internet access and/or the ability to make a phone call (or take a picture) while on the road, but the actual need to do such things is pretty infrequent.
I have a bit of a fetish for e-ink displays, and have been thinking about maybe getting a Mudita Kompact but so far, I’ve been able to resist the urge.
Oh that Kompact sounds interesting. I’ve had my eye on a Boox Palma. I want the e-ink display but I use enough Android apps for music streaming and podcasts that I would want to avoid a custom OS.
I was unfamiliar with the Boox Palma (but love the name). I’ll look into it… thanks for letting me know. 🙂
It unfortunately does not have cellphone capabilities, only wifi. This is basically the only barrier to me.
But as a not-really phone, it may work for you.
What about weather radar?
?
That’s what I missed when I traveled.
In iffy weather I checked truck stops, and oddly no one knew the weather forecast.
Nebraska to their credit had loops of radar in their rest stops, but no indication of the direction it was going.
Last time I was caught by weather, I managed to get off the freeway just before it got worse.
I was able to watch the storms on my phone.
It got worse all night, actually too loud to sleep or listen to anything.
A tornado touched down quite near me.
In Nebraska, I just wanted to know if I was headed in or out of the storm.
Ah, I see.
I don’t text and drive and I have sirius-xm radio. I will answer the phone since I now have a cheapo amazon radio in my old bronco that allows me to do so hands free. The xm radio means that I am rarely switching radio stations and I made sure to pick out an aftermarket radio with a volume knob.
I was going to say I just try to pay attention & ignore the screen/phone (although the gauges on the JB4 app can be alluring).
Until you mentioned about looking out for dangers/etc. I’m always watching for debris (even if the GRC got a cracked grill from a piece of tire already) and looking ahead for possible problems. That guy riding someone’s ass, looking in his mirror every 2.3 seconds? Yeah he’s gonna whip it over any minute.
See that line of cars behind the semi? At least one is gonna come on over and may/may not take a look first. Autocross/rallycross helped me learn to keep looking ahead. And I’ve helped with two Street Survival programs, some of that was eye-opening as well.
Is that the Tire Rack Teen Street Survival courses, by chance? Made my daughter take one of those, really helped with her confidence behind the wheel. I strongly encourage any parent out there with a kid learning to drive or recently licensed to get them into one of these courses.
Yessir. It’s been a couple years but they were fun, one of them was on my b’day and they got me a cake. I still remember sitting in a firetruck with 6 cars parked around it & I could not see a single one.
Yeah, that firetruck setup was a real eye opener.
I’m very grateful to folks like you who volunteer to help with these courses!
I did not know the Street Survival program existed, and now I’m signing up 2 of my kids for it in November.
Excellent. It’s an eye-opener for sure, I wish they had this when I started driving in the early 80s.
Yeah, I have developed a sixth sense for what people are going to do on the road and that has helped me countless times at least avoid being annoyed. Far too many times I think I know what they’re going to do before they even know. It also works for cops. Unfortunately, I can’t predict everything.
I drive a car that thankfully has Android Auto and doesn’t have climate controls as part of the infotainment screen. My phone stays in my pocket when I am driving.
I make safer and courteous driving a priority when I am behind the wheel – maintaining distance when moving, keeping and eye on what other vehices are around me, using my indicators, getting up to traffic speed when merging, staying in my lane through turns, not braking or slowing down before I am out of my lane when changing to a turning lane, etc.
I’ve gotten in the habit of putting my phone deep in the center consul whenever I drive. I’m really just a big dumb animal, and even with the best intentions, having the dopamine rectangle out of sight and out of reach is what I needed to do in order to stay fully focused.
I do this too, except I just leave it in my purse and put the purse in the backseat where I can’t reach it. There are studies showing that having your phone in your line of vision (even if you aren’t using it or looking right at it) decreases your focus.
I don’t have a strong temptation to grab the phone, but I built a slot in the console to house mine while in use for music and GPS. It’s in front of the shifter, so it can’t be removed when the shifter is in an odd gear and it’s hardwired, so screwing with it would be difficult and almost certainly disconnect it and then it takes two hands to reconnect it, so it stays there. There really should be an OEM solution like this.
That’s smart. I love the idea of a phone compartment that locks while the car is in drive.
That was luck more than smart as it was really the only place I could fit it and it was with minimal modification (to return to standard, I’d just have to replace the small blank panel under the HVAC controls).
Keeping an eye on all the goofballs out there is more than enough to maintain my attention. You gotta watch everything, especially on the Interstate.
I’m constantly recalculating/guessing where each car around me is going. Are they doing anything that makes me think they are going to change lanes? Are they driving a bunch of kids and will probably want to turn towards the school down that other road? What construction site is that dump truck likely coming from or going to? It helps keep me aware of the cars and their positions and what my next move is likely to be (both emergent and non-emergent).
On 2 wheels I remember that everyone else on the road is trying to kill me, they’re pretending like they don’t see me but in reality they’re just waiting for me to roll into their supposed “blindspot” so they can swerve across 3 lanes and end me. The Camrys and Taxis and Buses are the worst, you really have to be wary of them.
In a car it’s a bit different. If I’m in my wife’s car I just constantly remind myself that if I wreck her car she will skin me alive then beat me to death with my own bones and that usually serves to keep me focused. In my car I just rely on podcasts or spotify to keep my attention on the task at hand. I’ve got the android auto and try to do as much as I can with the voice commands but those are always hit/miss if they actually work.
By presuming that everyone wants to race. The old lady in Highlander never stood a chance, it’s like she didn’t even try.
I play defensive driving games – what’s my following distance? Is there someone next to me? What can I safely do to make sure I’m not boxed in? Is there someone behind me? If so, is there somewhere to pull off and let them by? When someone passes me, how long passes from the time they disappear in my mirror until they appear in my peripheral vision? These exercises help me position myself in a safer way, but more importantly, keep me aware of my surroundings. If every condition has a reaction and a reason, my mirror-check becomes an activity instead of a checklist.
I only have one car with a modern-ish (2016) screen and automatic, so that cuts distractions way down. I don’t have a phone mount in anything so no phone use, and rarely use any sort of nav. No food or drinks (only two cars with cupholders) in the car.
I get to drive lots of things, but the one I really like, the big Bentley. Whether going to the supermarket or to visit a friend’s house in Cornwall (790 mile trip) it becomes my focus, yes it is a very physical thing to drive, but anticpating every input is fun,
Taking backroads!
Every time I’ve felt dangerously sleepy on the road had been on the interstate. Something about them just has a lulling effect to me. But narrower roads with hills and curves, having to pay attention to the treeline, passing through towns and stuff – it easily keeps me engaged enough to keep going.
I’m tracking all the cars around me and where they are in my mirrors in case I need to make a “no-look” panic maneuver”. I try to keep a way out at all times if I can.
I play a mental game of “what is the stupidest thing that such and such car could do.” I trust no-one, even if they have their signal on. Sometimes people find ways to be even stupider than I could imagine.
I generally don’t “let people out”, especially if they are crossing traffic into opposite lanes. I’ve seen too many crashes from where they can’t see the other traffic. On a similar note, if I see a gap in stopped traffic, I slow down because someone might be coming into or across my lane through that gap.
I use Android Auto in most of my cars to handle maps and music. Any texts are read aloud and answered via voice or ignored.
Driving a manual Miata forces you to protect yourself and stay engaged, because everything is bigger than you.
Agreed. Drive like everyone is trying to kill you, because they often are.
4 limb driving. Driving a manual transmission keeps me more proactively involved in the entire driving process, thereby leaving me less time to get bored enough to get distracted.
I bought a manual 2 years ago for this reason. My car at the time had all the drive assist features. Eventually I realized that I was like … barely driving. It freaked me out. Having to shift really keeps the focus on the task.
Ironically, listening to CBC News (an activity which reliably induces narcolepsy in other scenarios) keeps me awake on long night drives because they generally discuss topics which require thinking. I know – this is like claiming that watching paint dry is a fun Friday Night activity.
Beats what I used to do before the advent of SiriusXM: hit the ‘scan’ button and listen to whatever AM station it found until the signal faded. Late-night call-in shows were … interesting, especially when Uncle Walt was off his meds and call in to complain about the government’s mishandling of east coast fish stocks. Or the alien UFO he saw last week. Both were equally likely.
I do the same with BBC World Service. Some of their topics are boring as hell but the less-than-uninteresting ones require some contemplation.
I agree – if staying awake and alert is the issue I am fighting any kind of talk radio whether it is news, call-in shows, or now podcasts is infinitely better than music.
My current company makes anyone who has a driving role (even if their own vehicle) take the Smith Driver Training Course. We actually have to take it every 5 years. It’s all about how to stay focused and where to focus when you’re driving. It is by far the most valuable safety class I’ve ever had. I cannot recommend it enough. I use their advice constantly and I feel like it wasn’t stuff I had in driver’s ed, or I forgot over a couple of decades. I’m thinking about paying to have my kids take it after they get their licenses.
Actually, I think the Autopian staff taking the course could be a really cool article.
I find driving to be a task comprised of intermittent bursts of focus.
I’m looking down the road.
I’m looking in the rear view
I’m looking at the Nav screen.
I’m looking at the mpg readout
I’m taking a quick drink from the Yeti while I’m looking down the road.
I’m grumbling about the car in the left lane ahead of me who has clear road ahead and won’t pass.
I’m avoiding that pothole.
I’m checking my speed.
I’m looking down the road….
By swearing and yelling in my car at the CRV in front of me going 45 in a 55 single lane no passing zone.
Don’t forget about the Altima that is approximately 2 inches from your reach bumper trying to do 95 in said 55 zone that keeps almost causing accidents by trying to pass
Haha since I take back roads through mostly rural northwest Indiana to and from work it is always a lifted Dodge ram riding my ass (most always a hemi too)
They’ve been the aggression champions for decades in the more urban Northeast, too.
Just like, swerving right to left in the lane behind you, as if that’s going to accomplish anything.
CRVs are the absolute worst drivers on the road. I swear, out of all the car makes and models out there, 70% of the time there’s a problem and it involves how-do-you-tie-your-shoes stupidity, it’s a CRV (or HRV). It used to be Toyota overall by a landslide, but for a while now, it’s been C/HRVs, just those two models (and mostly the CRVs). The flip side of the typically clueless and overcautious is the 20-year-old one that’s been lowered and Pep-Boy-accessoried driving like it’s a Civic in a F&F movie.