Distracted driving claims more than 3,000 lives every year in the U.S.

Whether it’s texting, listening to the radio turned up too loud, or chatting with friends in the car, distracted driving is deadly, both for those in the car and for others on the road.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you take preventative measures to keep yourself and any other drivers in your home safe. Keep reading to learn what they are!

Put Your Phone on Airplane Mode

Texting is one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving among adults and teens.

If you know that you won’t be able to resist the urge to check your phone when your notification tone goes off, it’s best to avoid the temptation entirely.

Placing your phone in airplane mode will keep you from receiving texts, calls, and other notifications while driving. Then when you get where you’re going, you can easily switch the airplane mode off and use your phone again right away.

If you need to keep your phone on in case an important call does come in, you can still turn off the sound of text or email notifications. That way you won’t be tempted to read a lengthy message before you get a chance to pull over to the side of the road.

Finish Your To-Do List Before You Get Behind the Wheel

When you have a million little things to do, it can be tough to focus on anything else.

And when your to-do list includes things like making calls, sending emails, or looking up info on the web, you’ll likely end up trying to get caught up while on the go.

This can lead to all kinds of dangerous situations.

If you can, try to get your to-do list done before your road trip or commute. If you can’t, put in your favorite CD and listen to that during your drive to distract yourself from everything else.

Limit Your Passenger Count

While this tip is important for anyone to follow, it’s especially smart for parents to educate their teens about it.

Too many people in the car can be a major distraction, particularly for young drivers. With friends in the backseat and passenger seat blasting music, chatting, and otherwise making noise, the driver is more likely to focus on anything but the road.

Never Drive Drowsy

Experts believe that as many as 83,000 crashes, causing more than 40,000 injuries and 800 deaths, occur every year as a result of drowsy driving.

While you may think that you can turn up the radio and down an energy drink to finish your drive and get where you need to go, getting behind the wheel drowsy is a dangerous mistake.

Beyond Distracted Driving Awareness Month

While it’s a good idea to learn a few preventative measures during distracted driving awareness month, these tips are important to follow all year long!

Unfortunately, we can only control our own car and habits on the road. That means that we are still at risk of accidents caused by other distracted drivers. 

If you’ve been injured as a result of distracted driving, contact us today to learn how we can help you get the justice you deserve.