According to the U.S department of transportation, “3,477 lives in 2015 were lost via distracted driving accidents.”
Distracted driving is defined as a driving while doing any activity that may momentarily divert your attention from the road to another source of attention. The Department of Transportation revealed a statistic stating that during daylight hours, around 660,000 people are using their cell phones while driving. Most of these individuals are teenagers. In fact, teenagers were reported as the largest age group that were distracted at the time of fatal car accidents.
One of iPhone’s new updates for iOS 10 includes a feature that automatically detects when the iPhone is in a moving vehicle. This triggers the phone’s, “Do Not Disturb” mode so that notifications are only received via Bluetooth in the vehicle or not at all. This is Apple’s way of discouraging drivers from using their devices while operating a vehicle.
Apple isn’t the only company that is trying to prevent more unnecessary distract driving fatalities; popular map company Waze, does not let drivers operate the application by typing or selecting options unless the user indicates that he is a passenger in a moving vehicle. These minor reminders may serve as warnings to seriously reduce the operators from driving without their full attention on the road.
Here are the five most common causes of distracted driving accidents:
Using a smartphone behind the wheel.
Talking with passengers while driving. TeenDriverSource.org indicates that the odds of crashing increase by 30 percent when there are several passengers in the vehicle.
Drinking or eating.
Whether it’s doing make-up or fixing your hair, grooming while driving can be deadly.
Whether it be a book during heavy traffic, focusing on a billboard or checking the time. Removing your eyes from the road can double your risk of crashing.