Distracted Driving is Deadly – Don’t Risk It
In 2022 distracted driving claimed the lives of 3,308 people. That’s about 7.7% of traffic fatalities and comes to about 9 people who die, needlessly, every single day.
Many of those who perished were teenagers, still learning how to drive, still navigating life, and still discovering who they were. Today, the Car Crash Captain is looking at some of the ways you can encourage your young driver to stay focused on the road, and not focused on the distractions.
What is Distracted Driving?
Most often we associate distracted driving as messing around on a phone, sending messages, while trying to drive. That’s one of the biggest distractions, but this actually encompasses anything that takes your eyes off the road. From phones, to the radio, to reading a newspaper, to eating or drinking, or even chatting with other people in the car.
How Can We Encourage Teens to Drive Distraction Free?
When it comes down to it, we hope they make the right choice. We can encourage them to do the right thing, and once they’re out the door the knowledge we have imparted will echo in their ears.
Talk to Them – First and foremost, let them know the real dangers of distracted driving. They might shrug it off at first claiming they never use their phone while driving. But they should know that there are other distractions. Emphasize the fact that it won’t take long to get to their destination, so just keep focused on the road until arrival.
Show Them – Set a good example. If you’re using your phone, then trying to tell them not to use their phones, it’s going to be an uphill battle. When you’re driving together, show that you focus ONLY on the road, and you don’t even mess with the radio unless you’re at a complete stop.
Encourage Them – When you see them do the right thing, send praises their way. If their phone rings while driving, and they ignore it, tell them you’re proud of them. You can even go as far as setting a reward system. If they don’t pick up their phone while driving, or otherwise stay focused on the road, treat them to ice cream, or a dinner out.
Punish Them – Rewards and encouragement work well, but so do punishments. Be firm with consequences. If they’re ignoring safety, take away the phone, restrict their driving privileges, cut out other privileges. They will certainly hate you for now, but over time, they’ll realize that you are hoping for their safety.
There are a number of apps that help reduce the use of phones while driving – the iPhone actually has a built in Do-Not-Disturb feature that automatically turns on if it detects movement at speeds similar to driving. You can even create your own “best practices” like putting the phone in the glove box while driving, or not allowing the teen to drive with passengers in the vehicle until they have a year of experience.
Herbert Law Group is Your Source for Justice
Suppose you, or your teen, are following all the safe driving protocols, and another distracted driver hits you. What do you do?
If you’re injured, do you hope that the insurance company is going to help pay for everything, and you will have no issues collecting a settlement? Or do you think you’ll end up fighting with them for months as they hem and haw over what actually happened?
If this is the case, you need Herbert Law Group. We know how to deal with insurance companies, and we’re ready to go to court to fight for your justice. You don’t have to worry about a thing, we’ll handle the troublesome insurance companies so you receive a settlement that’s in your best interest.
Let’s get started with a free phone conversation. Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site and we’ll reach out to you.