Hey guys when was the last time you checked your phone while
driving? Were your kids in the back
seat?
It is not a big deal that I checked my phone while I was
driving; nothing happened I did not swerve or crash, no one got hurt. Maybe that is the case this time and every
other time before but it will not be the case every time. Distracted driving is the fastest growing
cause of automobile accidents around the world.
We don’t want you or your loved ones to become another statistic so we
are going to give you some easy to follow distracted driving tips that we try
our best to follow every time we get behind the wheel.
One. If you are going to use your phone while driving, make
sure you use a hands-free system. That
means that you don’t have to touch anything to use the phone. It’s been proven that just talking on the
phone while driving increases your chances of getting an accident. The National Safety Council reported that
cell phone use while driving leads to over 1.6 million crashes each year.
Two. Never text while driving, it’s not worth it to take
your eyes off the road at all. Nearly
390,000 injuries occur each year in the US from texting and driving. When you text and drive you are increasing
your chances of getting in an accident by over 400%. 400% that’s HUGE!! Also think about what you just taught your
kids in the back seat? Do you want them
texting and driving when they get old enough?
Three. Your attitude makes all the difference in the world,
especially behind the wheel. If you are
emotional it’s not the time to get behind the wheel. Take a few moments to get your thoughts
collected before you take off. Think
about how hard it is to see after you’ve been crying. Tears blur your vision, thoughts cloud your
judgment and your body isn’t prepared to go to work. Driving with any kind of emotional stress is
the exact same way. That emotion clouds
your vision while your thoughts run wild making it extremely difficult to
focus. More likely than not if your
anything like me you can’t even think straight when your emotionally
distressed. Heck, my wife might even say
that I’m irrational at times. Lol.
Four. Plug your phone in and put it in the console so it’s
not distracting. I used to not only tell
the people that I trained to drive trucks but also lived by this when I was
driving. I would place my phone upside
down on the floor between the seats so I would ensure that it wouldn’t distract
me.
Five. This is our
last tip. Avoid multitasking while
driving. Let’s face it you are already
multitasking every time you get behind the wheel. You have to move your foot on the
accelerator, turn the wheel, use your turn signals, dim and brighten your
lights, check your mirrors, all of that is plenty to do without adding more to
it. My favorite story about multitasking
is when I was running a heavy haul across the Western US. I hit Salt Lake City at morning rush
hour. As we were all driving bumper to
bumper in stop and go traffic, I glanced out my driver side window. What did I see? A woman changing her clothes
while she drove. Now there were at least
two of us on the road driving while distracted. Lol. This lady got down to her
skivvies and changed her shirt, skirt and shoes all while she was driving. Then she proceeded to put on her deodorant
and makeup.
The big thing to remember is that I guarantee that someone
wants you to make it home safe tonight and every night. Don’t take the unnecessary risks associated
with distracted driving.
Buckle up and stay safe out there.
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