- Keep Your Phone out of Reach: Putting your phone in the Glove Box, out of reach, and with sounds muted, can help you avoid the temptation of checking it. At a minimum, you can turn the phone to "do not disturb" mode until you reach your destination.
- Don't Disturb Others Who are Driving: If you know someone is driving, avoid texting or calling them until they are at their destination - your call could put them at risk for an accident.
- Vow not to multi-task: Anything that occupies your mind or vision can be a distraction behind the wheel. Make time at home to eat meals or put on makeup, so you can focus on the road when driving.
- Pull over to check directions and set navigation: Programming your navigation system while you drive can take your eyes off the road. It’s better to ask a passenger to do it or to enter your destination before you leave home.
- Have a place for pets: Make sure that pets can't distract you while driving. Have a place for your pet where they can't disturb the driver.
- If you need to reach something - Pull over: Don't be tempted to reach for those sunglasses that are just out of reach while driving. Doing so causes your eyes and mind to loose focus on the task at hand. While reaching for things it's common to pull the steering wheel, causing your car to veer which dramatically increases your risk of being in an accident.
- The car itself can be a distraction: Modern cars have information systems and interfaces that can do many things. Even though these systems are part of the car, they can also cause distraction and force your eyes off the road. Be aware that time spent not looking out the windshield is distracted time.
Pattern of Distraction
A person's state of mind makes them vulnerable to distraction, which leads to poor decisions, mental lapses and a whole bunch of costly errors. The end result is taking eyes and mind off the task at hand making an injury or accident just a matter of time and luck.
- Our State of Mind initiates distracted behaviors.
- Rushing
- Frustration
- Anger
- Fatigue
- Familiarity or Complacency with task
- Type of Distractions result in poor decisions and mental lapses
- Visual
- Auditory
- Manual
- Cognitive
- Effect of Distraction
- Eyes not on task
- Mind not on task
- Loss of balance, traction, grip, etc.
- Eyes not on task
Mitigating Distraction in Our Lives
Our minds are only capable of focusing on one thing at a time. A study measuring cognitive distraction in the automobile conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, June 2013 reveled that the more you do - eating, talking, "multi-tasking" - the busier your brain is and the less it can focus on the task at hand.
- Proactively Create Awareness and Provide Training
- Statistics, Facts, Knowledge
- Drivers and Workplace Education
- Reinforce Learning
- Safety Discussions with teens and employees
- Use tools to keep top of mind
- Repeat until good habits have been developed