Every driver in Georgia should understand that we are expected to be safe and attentive when driving. Unfortunately, with the widespread use of cellphones these days, many people fail to recognize the fact that using a cellphone while driving can make a driver dangerous and distracted behind the wheel.
Ever since the risks of distracted driving have been reported, efforts to curb the behavior have been made in many different ways, from laws prohibiting texting and driving to educational and awareness campaigns. Despite these efforts, sadly, people continue to use their phone while driving.
In an article on our website, we explored another innovation that claimed to reduce distracted driving: hands-free devices. In that article, which can be read in full here, we noted that although hands-free technology allows a driver to use a phone with voice commands instead of typing something in, it can still be very distracting.
While a person’s hands and eyes may be on the road, their attention may not necessarily be when using hands-free technology. In our article, we noted that our brains switch between tasks when we are trying to do two or more things at the same time. Thus, while we may be looking at the road while operating a hands-free device, our brain may not be registering any visual hazards or conditions that we see.
Because hands-free technology is still not resolving the issue of getting distracted by the phone while driving, products designed to get rid of the threat of distraction altogether have come onto the market recently. One product, for instance, disables most of the functions on a driver’s phone as soon as a car is in motion.
The device, DriveID, blocks just about everything except navigation functions and calls from pre-approved contacts.
This is just one of many similar devices that is working to get rid of distraction as opposed to making it easier to drive while on the phone. Unfortunately, there are still drivers all across Georgia who don’t want to be restricted in this way or feel like they are completely capable of driving and using a phone at the same time. Sadly, it could take a serious crash to remind people that distracted driving can be deadly.
