Distracted Driving

Millions of people have smartwatches in this country, and that number is expected to continue to rise. What many people don’t realize is that these are quickly becoming a bigger distraction for drivers than even smartphones. Many states don’t have laws that specifically address smartwatches, so it’s often up to police officers to interpret what’s going on and how the law applies. One thing’s for certain – distracted driving is dangerous driving. Because of this, all drivers should avoid distractions. What’s so dangerous about smartwatches? One study compared how drivers handled alerts from a...

The authorities have tried many things to put an end to texting and driving. They know that it causes serious accidents and costs the United States hundreds or even thousands of lives every year. In fact, it’s sometimes been likened to drunk driving, which saw its own opposition movement with the rise of groups like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Some studies have even concluded that, though both practices are dangerous, and drivers should never engage in either one, drunk driving was actually safer than texting and driving. So, how can the authorities end this practice? Sometimes, they just...

You have every intention of avoiding distractions while driving, but things have a way of changing when you’re behind the wheel. Even safe drivers fall prey to distractions every now and again Here are some of the many things you should worry about: Texting  Talking on the phone Conversing with passengers Eating and drinking Daydreaming Smoking All of these things, among others, can and probably will take your attention away from the road. And when that happens, the risk of an accident goes through the roof. Here are some steps you can take to prevent these distractions, among others, from...

“Make mine to go, please.” How many times have you said that to the food server when you’ve been in a hurry? How many times have you crawled out of bed, filled your travel mug with coffee, jumped into your car and drove off to work? We’ve all done it. Driving with our wrists on the wheel, a coffee in one hand and some food in the other. However, it’s a terrible idea.   Have you ever considered how dangerous eating and drinking while driving is?  Try something: Fill your travel mug with hot coffee and go and sit in your car, with the engine switched off. Now lift your cup to your mouth. What...

Summer brings fair weather and vacations -- so it's no surprise that lots of people head out on the road in their cars. Apparently, it's also the season for distracted driving. According to statistics, there's a spike in car accident deaths every year from June through August. The increase is an eye-popping 29 percent above the number of accident deaths from December through February. Why the sharp increase in car accidents and related deaths during the summer? Researchers say that the increase is largely the result of distracted driving. Data that's been collected from over 20,000 drivers...

Do you know a driver who is constantly checking his or her text messages while behind the wheel? Maybe you know someone who gets so distracted listening to a morning podcast that he or she has accidentally cut someone off in traffic? If so, you might want to give that person some warning that the Highway Patrol is watching for just that sort of thing -- especially along the nation's first "Safety Corridor." The section of highway that's been given that distinction is the part of Interstate 76 and Interstate 80 between State Routes 534 and 193 near Akron and Cuyahoga Falls. It's one of the...

If everyone knows that distracted driving is a problem, why does it keep happening? It turns out, that many drivers may essentially talk themselves into believing that only other drivers fall prey to distractions -- while justifying their own distracted behavior. How does that happen? It starts with a fairly common psychological fallacy. First of all, the majority of people -- an incredible 90 percent -- believe that they're better-than-average drivers. That's a statistical impossibility. The same psychological trick that makes people believe that they're better drivers than most other...

There's more evidence than ever that cellphones and driving are two things that shouldn't go together. As a result of the problems with distracted driving, there are lots of state and local ordinances out there prohibiting the use of cellphones while behind the wheel. Do they actually work? Is it time to try something else? The data says that anti-phone laws don't work The newest data indicates that cellphones are a factor in 52 percent of all roadway accidents. In addition, researchers found out that it really doesn't make much difference whether the driver lives in a state with anti-phone...

You would have to be living under a rock not to know that distracted driving, particularly through cellphone use, is a huge issue these days. State have passed laws against it. There are reminders not to text and drive on billboards, on flashing roadside signs and on rental car dashboards. There are commercials about it. Even phone manufacturers have gotten into the act -- some phones automatically shut off if you're traveling at certain speeds unless you manually tell them you're a passenger, not the driver. Games and apps you can use on your phone contain similar warnings and disabling...

Ohio changed the speed limit of a number of its highways from 65 mph to 70 mph back in 2013. Now, state officials are considering changing some of those roads back to the reduced speed. A recent report indicates that there has been an uptick of 24 percent in the number of crashes on the roads that have the increased speed limit -- even though the difference is only five miles per hour. In addition, there's been a 22 percent increase in fatal crashes as well on the same roads. Given the results of the study, the state already has plans to focus additional patrol efforts on three sections of...