When driving, whether it is a short journey to work or a road trip that is going to take all day it is equally as important that you are safe whilst driving and stay alert.
A lot of us use smartphones on a daily basis, nowadays they are not only phones but can be used as an mp3 player and also as sat nav. It is so important that you don’t let your phone distract you whilst driving.
A recent survey was conducted about drivers and mobile phones and honestly I am quite shocked with the results!
19% of the surveyed drivers admitted that they sometimes take calls while driving, 17% admit that they read texts off of their phone, and 12% send texts. All of these reasons can result in a penalty if the police pull you over and find that it was distracting you.
I am honestly shocked that people are still using phones to text and call whilst behind the wheel knowing how dangerous it can be. Not only does it put your own life at risk, it will put at risk anyone in your car and also the drivers/pedestrians around you.
The best tips I can give when taking a long journey to avoid being distracted would be to set up your phone before you leave. Make sure you know your destination and have the address set up already on google maps so you do not have to fiddle around with it once on the road. Planning your journey is so important so you know exactly where you are going. Also, put your phone on driving mode if it has it, you can even set them up nowadays that if you are driving and someone calls or texts you then your phone will automatically text the person back to say you are driving and will respond once you have reached your destination.
If you get a lot of calls and text and like to check social media and the news regularly then plan this into your journey. Don’t look these things up when at traffic lights or when in traffic like you see some people doing! If you are on a 4 hour drive then plan before you go any places that are suitable to stop at like motorway services. You could stop once an hour for a break and have a suitable time to use your phone.
Not only are you putting people at danger using a phone whilst driving but you are also liable for a penalty if you get caught!
In the recent survey with Kwikfit:
“43% of the drivers we asked, that’s more than two in five people, did not know that the minimum penalty is now 6 points and a £200 fine if you are found to be using a mobile phone while behind the wheel. For particularly dangerous offences you can be taken to court where you could receive the maximum fine of £1,000 and even banned from driving. Drivers who have passed their driving test in the past two years will lose their licence outright for a single mobile phone related offence. Only 47% of the people we asked knew about these additional rules that specifically target inexperienced drivers who are the most likely to use their phone behind the wheel.”
You may think that you are capable of texting and driving but it IS NOT WORTH THE RISK! Take the Driven to distraction test and see how you get on!
Drive safely!
Sarah x
Anyone who texts and drives is a c- in my opinion. Why would you risk your life and multiple lives of other people over something that could have waited 10 minutes x
This is definitely something that some people don’t take seriously – I’m not a driver myself for environmental and ability reasons, but another reason that puts me off is that people are just so careless and I don’t like putting my life in their hands. I’ve seen too many instances where people have lost their lives simply because someone couldn’t be bothered to wait for a text and it’s just awful. Your tips are really good, and I think that driving mode thing sounds good – more people should use it!
No one should text and drive or do anything else with their phone whilst driving. It’s not rocket science to either wait till you reach your destination, or if you MUST use your phone, just pull over!
Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip || Latest Post
Really useful post.
I hate to see anyone use their phone while driving.
https://littlemissmelanie.com/
It really annoys me when people drive while on their phone, it’s so unnecessary!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
It honestly baffles me that anyone still uses their phone behind the wheel. Anyone who thinks texts or social media are so important they can’t be bothered to pull over or just wait is ridiculous! It’s absolutely not worth the risk to yourself and others.
Beth x Adventure & Anxiety