How to get back to the basics behind the wheel.
FDRsafety fully supports October as Distracted Driving Awareness month and is invested in creating safer roadways across the world. For a list of outstanding resources on the subject, please visit the National Safety Council’s website.
There once was a time when driving was an escape. You could hop in, buckle up, roll down the windows, and be free for as long as it took to get from point A to point B. For the vast majority of us, this was never truly a reality. Ever since the first car radio was installed in 1930, the amount of driving distractions has increased year after year. And unfortunately, with the technological revolution of the last 20 years, we now have a world of multitasking drivers. Whether we’re actually holding our phone, “hands-free”, eating, or choosing a new song, driving a car is no longer just driving.
The physical impact of distracted driving is undeniable. Hundreds of thousands of preventable accidents are happening every year. This month we’ll see dozens of highly reputable sources, with supporting facts, highlighting the risks associated with distracted driving. So, let’s head in a different direction.
What if we use our time behind the wheel to…….just drive? We know, it’s a crazy thought but we could do it if we realize:
- We’re not being efficient by multitasking behind the wheel, we’re being dangerous.
- Whoever we’re talking to on the phone can wait.
- There are other people on the road we definitely don’t want to hurt.
We could all use a break from the news, our social media accounts, YouTube, and everything else in our non-stop world. Driving is the best opportunity to unplug and focus on one single thing: getting from point A to point B, safely. Obviously removing distractions in the car is a safe decision, but it can also have a profound impact on our mental health, giving us time to ourselves that we otherwise may not get.
The majority of us spend a little over an hour in the car each day. Is it THAT important for that hour to be filled with the same things we experience the rest of our day? Let’s give ourselves a break, take a deep breath or two, and create a safer world for ourselves and the drivers around us.
If you have questions or need help regarding distracted driving or anything safety related, please reach out to FDRsafety.
