Don’t text and drive
We spend a lot of time on the road and are still baffled as to why drivers continue to text while driving despite the risk of fines, points and prosecution – and losing their lives.
Texting affect driving in three ways:
Distraction – driving and using your phone requires you to concentrate on two ‘thinking’ tasks at once
Physical impairment – holding your phone leaves only one hand in control of the car
Visual impairment – glancing down at your phone means taking your eyes off the road. Even looking away for a couple of seconds means you miss whole stretches, which increases your chance of a collision
Dangers of driving while texting include:
- Failing to be aware of stopping distances
- Failing to spot road signs or traffic lights
- Failing to notice that the vehicle in front has slowed or stopped
- Drifting across lanes
- Failing to spot hazards, pedestrians or cyclists
We’ve compiled some tips for avoiding using your phone while driving:
- Hide the phone away before you start your journey and commit your attention to the task in hand – controlling your vehicle
- Plan regular rest stops along the way where you can check your phone safely with the engine switched off
- Before you stow it away, let friends and family know you’re going to be out of touch for a while because you want to focus on your driving. This will help minimise those annoying buzzes and pings
- If you need to call someone, do it before you leave. Text before you drive, when you get to the services or reach your destination
- Turn your phone off completely or switch it to silent or flight mode so you don’t receive any calls or notifications
- Prepare a long playlist of your favourite songs for the journey or download an audiobook before you leave
- Delegate social media updates, radio station switching, navigation or temperature control tasks to a passenger if you have one
Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you at Worcester's Mobile Mechanic soon.