A new report provides a series of tips that focus largely on how to prevent distracting acts while at the wheel. For those drivers that have trouble putting down the phone, the advice is essential in order to improve safety.
It’s hard not to take a call or shoot a quick glance at a text when your phone dings, but that’s what must happen if you hope to stay on the right side of the law in California. You might try storing the phone out of reach, and if you have an important call you have to make, just pull over and dial or text from a safe spot.
Cellphone-based distractions aren’t the only threats out there. Certain restaurant chains may offer you the option to eat in your car when going through the drive-thru, but this isn’t a good idea. Save the eating or drinking for the restaurant itself or for when you get home.
You can further eliminate distraction by getting into a comfortable driving mode before you pull into traffic. You can find the appropriate radio station and seating position while you’re still parked and similarly adjust the temperature before you go. Each of these things, if conducted while in transit, can take precious seconds of attention away from the road.