“If you’re texting, you’re not driving.” Distraction.gov minces no words in their latest advertising campaign. April being Distracted Driving Awareness Month, social media and news outlets are rife with tragic stories of lives lost or forever changed. In “2014 alone, 3,129 were killed in distracted driving crashes”— the mind boggles at how preventable those deaths were.
The Illusion of Multitasking
We likely make an automatic connection between distraction and mobile technology. Yet, while that’s a huge part of the national problem, the catalog of distracting activities is many and varied. By definition, “A distraction is anything that causes a driver to take their eyes... hands... or their mind off their primary task of driving safely.” Now that’s a sweeping net of possibilities.
And while distracted driving has always been, combine it with today’s inundation of “smart” devices and our obsession with connectivity, and you get a new, dizzier sort of distraction. Authorities and lawmakers have taken notice, and states have passed laws—they’re hoping to bring us to attention. We all need the reminders, too. Society’s manic pace rewards multitasking, seemingly at all costs. And sadly, what we say about distracted driving doesn’t always jive with what we actually do.
Every Trip, One Focus
But let’s be honest: research aside, we intuitively know that any distraction while behind the wheel could very well cost us. We inherently sense that risk. So let’s build on that knowledge, stepping up and pledging—for ourselves, our families, and each other—to end distracted driving, one trip at a time, in our own sphere of influence. Once those ripples spread, we’ll have a force to be reckoned with; a force that’s out to protect and preserve what matters most.
Prevent Distracted Driving
Cellcontrol is a great way to protect your teenagers from texting and driving accidents. Their mobile technology eliminates the temptation to talk, text, email and surf the web while driving. The policy is enforced only when the vehicle is accurately determined to be in motion, and affects only the driver—passengers can continue to surf and text to their heart's content.
Cellcontrol is highly customizable—you decide what to allow or disallow while driving. In addition to denying texting, Cellcontrol can limit access to other distractors such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumbler and other phone applications. Optionally, receive alerts and notifications for a variety of actions or violations like attempts to disable the system, speeding, and low phone use scores, giving you valuable insight into bad driving habits.
