Distracted Driving to Grandma’s House?

This holiday season, tens of millions of Americans will hit the road. Before you get behind the wheel, let's put the focus on distracted driving.

Been here, done that?

When you hear the word “distracted,” what word naturally flows next? 

For me, it’s driving.

The deadly toll of distracted driving

Distracted driving has numerous PSA campaigns, each geared to put your focus back on the road. The thought of your teen driving while distracted by their phone or the big fancy console screen are among the biggest fears of parents as they hand the keys over to their kids. It’s also one of those things that kids in the back get to call out the hypocrisy of the parent driving up front.

While distracted driving is an everyday concern, over the holidays, distracted driving gets amplified to the next level. 

Nearly 110 million Americans driving are expected to hit the road this Christmas season, which means we will have lots more drivers on the road. Those drivers will be checking their phones and GPS maps as they navigate unfamiliar places. And all of that might be happening after having a few drinks during that family gathering or party before driving home.

Distracted driving claimed 3,275 lives nationwide in 2023, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The actual number is likely higher than that.

Doing some quick math,  let’s just assume that around nine Americans die everyday in distracted driving crashes.

What defines distracted driving?

How the heck did we get here?

“Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving,” the NTHSA says on its website.

Smart phones are making us dumb behind the wheel

“Texting is the most alarming distraction,” the NTHSA says. “Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.

“You cannot drive safely unless the task of driving has your full attention. Any non-driving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing.”

When and how can we ever really put our full attention on anything with so many distractions aimed at diverting it: The song on the radio is terrible, I need another cup of coffee, did my mascara smear?

Weren’t “smart” tech and all those bells and whistles that have helped drive up the cost of cars supposed to alleviate those distractions?

“Visual and mental attention is key to safe driving, yet many in-vehicle technologies can cause drivers to lose sight and focus of the road ahead,” car club AAA says. “Hands-free, voice-command features and other interactive technologies increasingly common in new vehicles may create visual and mental distractions that unintentionally provide motorists with a false sense of security about their safety behind the wheel. Just because a technology is available in your vehicle, does not mean it is safe to use while driving.”

There are some level of distracted driving laws in every state (except Montana).

But I love CarPlay!

Several years back, AAA looked at around 40 so-called “infotainment” features available in new cars. 

When examining these infotainment features, AAA says its research considered “the visual (eyes-off-road) and cognitive (mental) demand as well as the time it took drivers to complete a task.” 

In its findings, AAA noted that “none of the 40 vehicle infotainment systems produced low demand, while 29 systems generated high or very high levels of demand on drivers.”

This got me thinking about how much more distracting the humongous screens we now drive around with are then they were when AAA did this study on 2017 and 2018 models.

“AAA recommends that industry strive to design in-vehicle technology systems that do not exceed a low level of demand.”

Dang, this really gives me a lot to think about the next time I get behind the wheel. Clearly, driving today isn’t just about being focused on where you’re going.

Now, where did I park the car?