As Distracted Driving Awareness Month concludes, the real work now begins. Rather than just focus on changed behaviour for a 30-day period, the momentum should continue and turn this commitment into a lifetime of road safety free of distractions on the road.
Every April places a vital spotlight on the epidemic of driving while distracted (DWD). MasterDrive spent the month dissecting the statistics and exploring the psychological biases that make us feel invincible when driving. The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, continues: “Yet, as the calendar turns to May, the greatest danger is that our vigilance shifts along with it.
“To truly eliminate distraction, we must move beyond awareness and start treating the driver’s seat as a ‘Seat of Sanctuary.’ The solution lies in redefining our relationship with our vehicles. “We live in a world that demands constant connectivity, but the physics of the road remains unchanged irrespective of new or additional social and work demands,” says Herbert.
Engineer a ‘focus first’ environment
When you are behind the wheel, your only identity should be as a ‘driver.’ “Everything else, parent, employee, friend, can – and must – wait until you are no longer driving. The most effective way in which to do this is to create a driving environment devoid of distractions.
“Successfully creating this relies on taking intentional steps to engineer such an environment. Rather than relying on willpower alone, which often fails during long commutes or when faced with stressful situations at work. Protect yourself from your own impulses. Shift your mindset from only knowing the danger to making distraction free driving part of your daily routine,” says Herbert.
- Follow a ‘pre-flight’ ritual: treat your car like a cockpit. Set Google Maps, select music, and send your final texts (stating you will be driving thereafter) before starting.
- Set up a digital shield: use the ‘Do Not Disturb’ function in your phone settings that auto-replies to incoming calls or messages. This informs those contacting you that there will be slight delays and removes the pressure of an immediate response.
- Passenger co-pilot: when travelling with passengers, ensure they know they assume the role of designated navigator and communicator.
- Create distance: if you know the temptation of a notification will be too great, place your phone somewhere that is difficult to reach. If your vehicle does not have Bluetooth be cautious of how difficult you make it to reach in case you encounter an emergency on the road.
Road safety is not a seasonal campaign. “It is a continuous commitment to ensure you do not add to the danger DWD is creating on the roads. By reclaiming the driver’s seat as a ‘Seat of Sanctuary,’ driving without distractions will become as natural as putting your seatbelt on,” says Herbert.