subject: Concentrating On The Road While Driving [print this page] When you first learn to drive there are a lot of rules that you follow religiously. Your instructors and the guardians that taught you to drive were probably very strict with what you were and were not allowed to do in the car.
Even after you are an experienced driver you should keep many of these rules as you are driving. You do not want to be one of the many Americans that end up passing away because of a traffic accident involving a distracted driver.
There are many different distractions that make themselves widely available to you while you are in the car. Some of these distractions have made headlines and have brought a lot of attention on themselves.
Using a cell phone is the perfect example of a distraction that has begin to attract a lot of attention. Your cell phone does not belong in the car.
Make sure that you understand this as you are beginning to drive. You should not be using your cell phone in any situation except for emergencies.
If you have to use your cell phone you should pull your car over to the side of the road and put your car into park. This may be a habit that will be very hard to instill if you are used to driving with your cell phone.
When you first try to break the habit of using your cell phone in your car you may feel that you are disconnected from the rest of the world. Although at first this can be a source of stress you may begin to enjoy it.
Driving can become a time when you are able to enjoy the peace and quiet that is so often lacking in our lives today. After you begin to enjoy the quiet of driving you may see turning your cell phone off as an escape rather than safety measure.
If you feel that you cannot have your cell phone off in the car you should at least put it down and make sure that you do not touch it while you are driving. Too often, people will get into accidents because they look down at their cell phone.
Texting on your cell phone has become a source of a lot of controversy on the road. Multiple studies show that when someone is texting their ability to react to what happens on the road is dramatically impaired.
When you are not able to react to what happens on the road you put yourself and other drivers on the road in peril. You will also put your passengers in danger.
Many states have made laws that make it illegal for people to be using their cell phone while they are driving. If you feel that you cannot go without your cell phone while you are in the car you should at buy a headset for your phone.
There are many ear pieces and headsets that make it possible for you're to use your phone without using your hands. Although this is not optimal, it is better than using your hands to operate your phone.
Obviously, using your cell phone while you are driving is a distraction. This does not seem to be disputed among anyone.
A much less obvious distraction may come from your passengers. Not many people think about their passengers and how the passengers will affect their driving.
When you are thinking about who you drive around you should imagine how rowdy they are and how much of your attention they demand. You may begin to think of many of your passengers in a new light.
For men and women that are consistently driving children it may be scary to realize how much of your attention is actually being devoted to the road. Children usually demand a lot of attention from the driver.
Obviously if you are a mother or a father you have to drive your children, so you must also find a way to reconcile this problem. This means that you should teach your children what is appropriate when you are in the car.
They should know that your attention has to be concentrated on the road. They may have to solve some of their own problems and they may have to learn to entertain themselves when you are driving.
This process can take some time and you should be extremely patient with your children. As you teach them what is appropriate in the car you will soon find that you are able to devote much more of your attention to the road.
