Using your phone through hands-free technology or picking it up can lead to a car accident.
If you are looking for ways to increase your safety on the road, then it’s possible you can begin with keeping phone calls and driving separate activities. Because even when you only pick up your phone occasionally or opt for using voice commands, making and taking phone calls are still major sources of distraction.
Picking up your phone
Both the act of picking up your phone and holding it in one hand to use it can be risky. When you go to reach for your phone, there is no telling how many seconds you might look away from the road while fumbling for it. And if you turn your back to reach for it because it’s somewhere near the back seat, the likelihood you’ll get into in accident may increase nine-fold. Then, once you grab a hold of your phone and use it, you’ll have one less hand on the wheel. This gives you less control of your car and may make you less prepared to quickly steer away from a hazard on the road.
Using hands-free technology
Whether you have your phone in your hand during a call or not, your brain is doing additional work on top of trying to keep track of traffic, road signs and staying in your lane. This puts you and people you share the road with in a dangerous position. In fact, the National Safety Council estimates that drivers who talk on the phone while steadily looking out their windshield can still miss up to half of what’s happening in their surroundings. Plus, performing voice commands, without ever making a phone call, can distract you during the act and many seconds after you complete the commands, according to a study cited on Geico’s website.
Picking up your phone, using voice commands and talking on the phone may cause you to miss out on essential cues while driving. So, it’s best to pull over if the phone call can’t wait.
