Top Ways To Keep Yourself Safe With A Phone While Driving
While it may seem innocent, even a brief distraction from your cell phone while driving can put both you and another driver at risk. You need to avoid any distractions from your cell phone while driving. This is a bad habit that can have devastating consequences. It’s time to think about the safety of yourself and everyone around you. Looking for help? Here are some of the tips you can use to avoid using your phone while you’re out on the road.
- Plan Early
One of the things you need to do is plan ahead of time. Smartphones come with numerous helpful features that can help you in a variety of ways. This is partially why they are so addictive and important to our lives. What’s more annoying, a lot of these features can make our lives on the road much easier.
However, you should be manipulating these features ahead of time. Looking for directions to the place you’re going? Pull out Google Maps. Looking for a place to stop for a drink on your road trip? You can easily search for different places on your phone.
The good news is a lot of these things can still be done without you needing to mess with your phone while on the road. Download the maps you’ll need to use offline, set up some Apple or Google shortcuts, and even pick stops along the route before you even head out. You can also use voice assistant features to get things done hands-free.
If you have someone with you on the ride, you could always ask them to put in new directions or change songs. Don’t pass the device back and forth trying to figure things out. This can get you in trouble with law enforcement and it can put you in a dangerous situation while on the road where every second matters.
- Hide It
A good way to keep yourself from wanting to use your phone while driving is by keeping it away from you. Keep it out of arms reach. This can keep you from even wanting to grab it. After all, you won’t have the ability to reach it from the driver’s seat. Therefore, you won’t be as tempted to use it.
A good place to store your phone while driving and out of arm’s reach in your glove box. This can be a great place to keep your phone safe and inaccessible while driving. Not only that, but it can keep the phone from becoming a flying projectile if you were to get into an accident.
When something is out of sight, it’s out of mind. If you have an addiction to your phone, you need to keep it away from your vision. Once it’s in your glove box and locked, you would need to completely stop the car and shut it off to retrieve it. You’re unlikely to do this unless necessary which is what you want.
- Get The Right Technology
Using any sort of handheld device while your engine is going is illegal. However, that’s not the case for hands-free sets. Because of this, if you need to use your phone while driving, you can use one of these to do so legally. Find the best car charger for iPhone.
However, just because they are legal doesn’t make them safe. Hosting phone calls or meetings on the phone is still not the best way to approach driving. It will still take away your attention and put you in harm’s way. Even a voice assistant can distract you. It’s not uncommon to have your voice assistant not taking commands. If you do get in an argument while on the phone, always pull over and allow your emotions to subside.
- Find Ways To Pass The Time
Getting yourself stuck in congested traffic is never fun. This is especially true when you’re in the car doing nothing. When you’re phone is right there next to you, it can be habit-forming to reach over and start scrolling. However, you want to think twice before looking at memes on Instagram. Think about whether or not it’s worth getting into an accident. Even a small accident can be costly.
To keep yourself from getting tempted during congested traffic, look for other things to do to pass the time. See if you can spot hazards along the way. Think about what you will do when you arrive at your destination. Even put on your favorite song and start singing. While the possibilities certainly aren’t endless, there are things you can do to pass the time that won’t involve pulling your hair out.
- Turn It Off
One of the best ways to get rid of a phone distraction is by simply turning it off. If you’ve followed some of the other tips in this article to no avail, you could always shut it off completely. You won’t need the willpower to avoid using your phone when it’s off. This is something that can help you if you’re having a difficult time getting rid of the urge to use your phone.
There are also a bunch of apps that you can use to minimize distractions and keep your mind off your phone. You can turn on “do not disturb” to keep notifications at bay. You can also have your phone automatically turn on “do not disturb” as soon as it connects to your car’s Bluetooth. That way, you don’t have to go through and manually do it yourself. It’s unlikely you’ll remember to do it every time you get into the vehicle. You can even create shortcuts on Siri that will send out a message to your contacts that try to reach you while driving that you’ll contact them after your journey.
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