Emotional State
Your mental state is a little different from driving impaired, where you are under the influence of a substance. Perhaps you receive the terrible news that someone you love suffered injury or death, and you need to get to where they are as soon as possible. It might be a good idea to ask someone else to drive you. Maybe you fought with your partner, and you decide that clearing your head means getting in your car. It’s surprising how many people get behind the wheel to leave after an argument. A walk might be a better choice.
New route
Driving through unfamiliar territory can be distracting. Your eyes may wander to foreign landmarks, or you may not know which way to turn. Fiddling with an app on your phone on an untraveled street or highway forces your fingers and eyes away. Check the route before you start the car. Follow the path to your destination on your phone or computer before leaving, watching the turns and distances. You’ll be familiar with the course, and the voice instructions from the app will make more sense as you drive, keeping your eyes on the road. Scenic drives often entice the driver to look. Find a place to pull over and park if you encounter a breathtaking panorama or feature that you must take in.
Electronic devices
Cell phones, smartphones, personal MP3 players, and other handheld or palm devices attach to our hands like extra appendages. It won’t be long before science figures out a way to connect us directly to our gadgets. Meanwhile, we still interface with them through hearing, sight, and touch, all of which take us away from driving an automobile safely.
I will not bore or scare you with all the statistics of how many people die each month or year in car accidents. All I can tell you is I have been a near victim of a distracted driver. As a pedestrian in a crosswalk, I had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit. She was so engrossed in her telephone conversation that she ran a red light and crossed tracks, barely escaping being hit by a 50-ton transit train. The driver kept going, oblivious to what had just happened.
Auto insurance claims departments are tracking the number of accidents involving distracted drivers. The figures are staggering. Oregon passed one of the strictest distracted driving laws in the nation in 2010. However, I still see several drivers a day talking on the phone and texting. Due to a loophole or ambiguity in the law, the regulation was revised and clarified to permit only emergency personnel and public utility workers, while on duty, to use cell phones with the device up to the ear. All others must use a hands-free device. Drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using the device entirely, whether it is hands-free or not. The ambiguity under the 2010 law was that self-employed drivers who relied heavily on driving for a living were exempt from the hands-free law. As of January 1, 2012, the law is unambiguous. All drivers, including self-employed business owners who use their cars for business purposes, must obey the hands-free device law or risk being cited for driving distracted.
Hands-free devices have become more affordable. Most new cars come with a Bluetooth option built into the vehicle. A driver who must communicate through these devices has no excuse not to purchase and use one or learn how to connect to the car. The cost of a ticket and the increased cost of car insurance would cover the purchase of ten hands-free appliances. I would suggest that you prepare all the hardware before starting the engine. And, if you can avoid the use of that technology altogether, do so. You might save your life or someone else’s. Pay attention to the road and traffic control devices. Watch out for pedestrians and other drivers who are careless with the use of their telephones. Your reaction time is impaired if you must figure out how to put down your phone while avoiding a collision. No one wants to drop their phone on the ground. Stop monkeying around.