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?
My personal experience is that the more the car does for me, the more easily I let it. I found myself paying less attention driving the GX550 than my GX470. If Im using advanced driving aids, I like to turn them off periodically and do it myself, just to shake things up and so I don’t get bored and complacent.
My daily commute (3 days a week now) is ideally 45 minutes and I’m constantly working/thinking how to maintain an average speed that will get me to work or home in that 45 minutes while driving around the distracted zombies just following the car 5 feet in front of them. That, and driving a 6 speed transmission skillfully.
Focus ST – Plug in phone and start Pandora before I head out. Doesn’t have any real tech other than BT so less likely to be distracted. Can control most things from the steering wheel. Also doesn’t have the safety aids my other vehicle has so it’s inherent I pay more attention.
Bronco – Most things are voice controlled or CarPlay so I don’t have to fuss with the touchscreen. Can also control most things via the steering wheel. Lane keep and BLIS do help me not be so “rigid” while driving, but I don’t depend on them solely to help me drive.
I use my motorcycle training and experience as well – Everything out there is trying to KILL me! As for internal dangers, I don’t use any data services, just the radio, and if there is no good music available… Well, it’s a good thing you can’t hear my singing!
Driving a car like a motorcycle is my approach too.
That has it’s drawbacks though as driving a car is less riveting and it doesn’t carve traffic as well.
I don’t normally even have the radio on unless I have a passenger.
If my phone rings or alerts me I pull off to check it out or hand it off (the phone not the wheel) to a passenger.
Set the iphone for automatically turn on Not Disturb when driving
Thanks that simplifies things, I had seen it, but never looked further.
Works for Android “Drive” mode too.
I think it needs to sense a Bluetooth connection to the vehicle.
I do that too. It does help to remove the temptation to “check that notification real quick”.
I’m more likely to get tired than distracted, so no driving before coffee. Even if I gotta go out late at night I’m taking a cold brew for the road. The Taconic is a bad place to fall asleep.
What?
I have been spending more time on my bicycle than in my car this year, and there is no better reminder that you need to pay attention at all times.
I’m a rather cynical person at times, but especially whilst driving. Combined with my daily commute on Interstate 80 in Northern New Jersey, this leads me to believe that any driver nearby is likely to make a sudden, stupid move (I am proven right with alarming regularity).
I am convinced that the average driver’s IQ drops precipitously behind the wheel.
Therefore, I plug my phone in to Android Auto, put it in its holder (I really like Proclip products, btw), turn off the screen, turn on the music and drive like everyone wants to kill me. I ignore text messages, only taking occasional calls from my wife to stop at the store for something before going home.
I pay attention to driving and ignore everything else.
As much as driving a modern minivan isn’t particularly engaging, I don’t typically have a tough time staying focused while driving. Honestly, I’m pretty fucking paranoid, and spend most of my time scanning for other drivers fucking up (which has saved my ass multiple times).
People I text regularly usually message me through GChat, and I don’t have notifications turned on. Like many others here, I typically set a podcast for my commute, so I’m not fidgeting too much with audio. The van has most of it’s HVAC controls available through buttons. So outside of the van being a comfy, floating, chamber of anesthetic, it’s pretty easy to stay focused as long as you distrust everyone around you (lol).
I just drive. It’s not that hard to focus on the road. If you can’t ignore a text until you’re off the road, maybe put your phone on silent and throw it in the trunk? I’m not sure that I understand the problem.
My brother used to text me relentlessly while I was driving to family get togethers. “What’s ur eta?” and “When will you get here?”. It’s a 3 hour drive. I had already told them when I planned to arrive. I always arrive when I said I would. This means that (A) he knew I was driving, and (B) he was just being obnoxious. Who cares? There is no actual reason to respond.
Pretty much anything can wait. I did end up getting a smartwatch so that I could see who is bugging me. If it’s my wife or the work on-call, I’ll pull off at the next rest area or gas station.
I was making a witness statement about an accident.
Started off saying I pulled over to answer my phone.
I think they were having trouble not laughing at that.
There are dozens of us. Dozens!
Fear is my pilot.
Start car, wait for bluetooth to connect, start podcast playlist on phone, and drive. 415am – 6am morning commute, 2pm – 4pm afternoon commute.
Rinse, repeat.
Note: do not play podcasts you aren’t interested in, they’ll make you drowsy like 10th grade chemistry.
Preparation helps a lot. Before I even leave I try to make sure I have enough music/podcasts queued up so that I won’t have to mess with that after I leave. On long road trips I will plan out my next gas stop so I’m not scrolling around the GPS looking for a gas station.
If I get drowsy I stop and get snacks and/or drinks. A lot of times that’s enough to wake me up. If not, I stop and take a quick nap. It’s amazing what 15 or 20 minutes of sleep will do for your alertness.
Sometimes I’ll play games, for lack of a better word, with a drive. Long boring trip on I-90? Clip the apexes of the few “corners” that do exist, though only if there’s no one in the other lane that I would be getting dangerously close to. I find that giving yourself something specific in your driving to focus on doing really well helps keep your attention where it should be.
There are probably others, but three is a magic number so I’ll stop there. 🙂
I drive two different cars regularly : 2019 Escape and 1979 Mini. I am much more focused in the Mini. Like the Miata comments, the Mini is small, invisible to other drivers and any sort of accident will have consequences. It’s also extremely noisy, has no radio let alone “infotainment” and any sort of debris or hole in the road is going to have consequences. Although it’s reliable for what it is, I’m constantly listening for changes in the noise it makes and paying attention to the oil and temp gauges. I am vigilant and fully engaged in operating the machine.
I’ll echo a lot of what others have said.
Driving a car with no advanced driving assists certainly helps. As Torch likes to remind us on a regular basis, humans are dogshit at vigilance tasks, so being in control is preferable to standing by to take control.
Treating driving as a repeating sequence of tasks that all require focus (look ahead, check mirrors, shoulder check, avoid potholes/hazards, etc.) is another big one, as is having familiar music* in the background – just enough additional sensory input to keep you online, but not so much that it distracts from the road.
Lastly – and this is something I can be an absolute asshole about – my hands are on the wheel, the shifter (if applicable), and nothing else. No phone, no food/drink, no fiddle-fucking with the infotainment… it can either wait until I’ve parked or I’ll pull over to deal with it if it’s urgent.
*The wife and I had to drive a 40-hour round trip last week: two 20-hour stints, 4 days apart, in a Chevy Spark, stopping only for gas and to change drivers as needed. (Might pitch this as an article, now to come to think of it…) What got me through the last eight hours was a loop of the Nightwish live show From Wishes to Eternity for the first six, followed by what we ended up naming The Cursed Trifecta. Otha – Club 20, Audrey Hobert – Sue Me, Motorhead – Overkill. Over and over, for two hours. I was locked in.
I need caffeine at 430 in the morning, and a I smoke, but otherwise agreed. Leave the phone alone and pay attention to the road.
Drive everywhere like you are the stunt driver for the hero car in the next FnF movie. You have to focus if you want to avoid an accident.
I can figure out where to get a car with 32 gears?
Living in NJ the sarcastic answer is that if you drive angry and aggressive enough getting distracted isn’t an issue.
Actual answer though is that voice controls and CarPlay make it easy to put my phone in the door pocket or console and not be tempted by it and podcasts are a good balance of engaging and unpredictable enough to keep me alert but can easily be ignored and “rewound” if driving takes all of my attention.
I was somewhat worried when I got my Prius years ago that the charge and power animations and gamification of milage on the center screen would actually be an issue and they probably were for a couple weeks until they became the background normal and easy to ignore.
I have AAA checking my driving using the phone app. Phone is out of the question, as soon I get in the car I put it in the charging dock and forget about it. Cant speed 10mph above the speed limit so I stay out of the left lane, set up automated cruise control and just cruise with some good playlist.
My consumption (either MPG or mi/kwh) improved a lot and I am more just relaxed. If I am driving the Miata I turn the phone off and enjoy the drive
Highly recommend against such apps.
More likely to be used against you.
I don’t use any of the driving aids. No autopilot, no lane centering, no brake hold, no adaptive cruise, hell – no cruise control.
Does that increase weariness? Sure. But that’s the tradeoff between being an attentive driver and merely a passive one. Drink plenty of fluids and take pee breaks, good for pacing, and also good excuse to stretch and keep blood from clotting up.
I do think Android Auto and Apple CarPlay should be mandatory equipment for new cars. In my ideal world, phones should be locked in a plastic box while vehicle is moving. Zero excuse for holding a phone or flipping through a screen while behind the wheel.
Just getting tired of seeing every other driver at a stop light whip out their phones and scroll.
I sometimes find myself alone in hourslong drives during travels, often arriving at the destination at 3AM.
I turn up YT Music and sing to the heart’s content. There isn’t another car within a 5-mile radius in NM so my performance tortures no one.
Turn off cruise control, pay attention to suroundings. I put on music I know by heart so I can tune it out as needed. I use an aftermarket HUD.
What type display?
HUD that displays vehicle speed on the windshield.
I am wondering if there is one you recommend?
I’ll never buy anything that comes with screens, other than rear view.
I enjoy driving, seek out cars that aren’t bad to drive in normal circumstances, and I don’t know if it’s PTSD for so long or inherent to my character, but I’m always on the lookout for threats, so the focus comes naturally.
Hard to separate.
I was taught early to think of vehicles as sacrificial, and think past emergencies, so tactical driving seems natural to me.
Once in several cars out painting over gang territory markings, we got blocked in on a side street. Not sure why.
I had the car in reverse.
After we could pass, friend asks why I was in reverse?
I said I was ready to take out the radiator behind us, then drive through several yards to get clear.
He just said the rifles are in the trunk.
I didn’t really have a response.
You want to cut the wheel, too, so you can (hopefully) push past/through the corner of the tail car or get around the one in front (obviously not pulling up too close to the car in front). I wouldn’t shift into reverse unless I needed to because the lights are a tell and I never quite got to the point of wiring the lights on separate switches because I wasn’t actually doing anything illicit that I had to go that far. I was followed by a pair of cars once (maybe a third I didn’t make, but I’m pretty sure it was just the two), but it wasn’t that intense a situation. Hell of a lot of fun, actually.
I’ve had some tactical driver training, but I was always like this. Since processing the PTSD, I’ve calmed a bit, but have maintained my situational awareness (among some other things), which is why I’m not sure if it’s just how I am or leftovers from having it so long. In the end, it’s not a bad thing to retain.
True.
Multiple light configurations are pretty common on investigator’s cars, and more effective at night than you’d think.
We didn’t have any trouble that day, though we did discover human remains at one location.
We were running in daylight for safety, in theory, and daring to do that actually intimidated the gangs.
They interpreted it as a power move and all violence halted for months.