Stop Texting While Driving- Kick the Habit!

Distracted drivers are everywhere!  At any given time, you can look around and find someone on their phone texting while driving.  In fact, you may be guilty of doing it too.  Statistics show an estimated 660,000 drivers are also on their phones which means there is an elevated risk of being involved in an auto accident. As you know, talking on the phone, reading or answering texts, and scrolling social media while driving is putting everyone in jeopardy. Stop texting while driving- Kick the habit!

Habits Can be Broken- Stop Texting While Driving!

If you want to be an advocate for safer driving habits, you can follow some basic tips to break the habit once and for all to allow for safer roadways.

1. Make Your Phone Inaccessible- It may be routine to have your phone within arm’s reach, but in an effort to avoid picking it up or looking at your phone, put it out of sight so it won’t create a distraction.
2. Silence Your Phone- Before venturing onto the roadways, put your phone on silent mode or simply turn it off.  This way, your phone’s noises (texts, dings, and rings) won’t distract your driving.
3. Assign a Designated Passenger- If you have passengers in the car, ask for help.  Give your phone to the designated passenger and have him/her respond and handle anything necessary.
4. Set and Enforce Guidelines- If you have teenage drivers in your household, sit down with them and lay out the rules and dangers of texting and driving.  Make sure they realize the rules and consequences if the rules are broken.
5. Be a Role Model- By modeling safe behavior, you are reinforcing the risks of texting while driving. If you tell your children not to do it and then they see you responding to texts and looking at your phone, you can’t expect them to put their phones down.
6. Do Not Disturb- If your cell phone has this feature, use it.  Having texts blocked/delayed while you are driving is a great feature to resist the temptation of reaching for your phone to see who texted.
7. Pull Over- If there is something you must deal with or respond to, pull off the road to a safe location to handle.

Do your part!  Everyone expects and desires to reach their destination in a safe and timely manner.  Breaking the habit of texting and driving will allow you to pay attention to the roadways and travel safely!  If you have any questions regarding the dangers of this distracted driving, contact our offices at Cameron Group Insurance today.   We are here for all your N.Y. auto insurance needs.