As cautious as women drivers try to be, they tend to get as distracted, if not more, than their male counterparts. And this holds true if the female driver in question is a mom. If you don’t want to be one of those unfortunate moms in a mess with the authorities for distracted driving, then here are some tips to help reduce distractions in your daily routine.
* Make sure everyone in the car is buckled up before you get started, and keep checking on them during stopovers.
* Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel at all times.
* Never take calls while driving; divert all your calls to voicemail.
* Allow a responsible passenger or an older child to handle your pphone calls and text messages.
* If the phone call is urgent, then pull to the side of road before you answer it.
* If needed, use a hands free device. But limit your usage.
* Pull over to the side of the road and settle any arguments and disputes that may erupt in the car.
* Never, never, never apply makeup or eat or even read anything when driving!
Helpful advice not just for mothers, but all parents as well. I must say though, that you underestimate the ability of mothers to multi task!
But I agree that it can be very distracting to focus on driving with small children in a car, esp. if the driving distances are long and the child is hungry or anxious to go to the toilet or just in a cranky mood!
A few tips I should add:
It's always a good idea to organize oneself before leaving home with a child in a car
- Always use a car seat for the child.
- Keep a spare bag with diapers/extra change of clothes incase the child is sick or has a toilet emergency.
- Keep healthy snacks/water for children incase of being stuck in traffic jams or emergencies.
- Always have a box of tissues or wipes in the car.
- A few books, small toys or even a notepad with some coloring pencils can also save the day!
- Some soft music, esp. a cd that your child particularly enjoys can also help to distract and ease the mood.
- Lastly, plan the journey in advance - which means checking the local radio or website for traffic news.
Driving with children is problematic issue, starting from the subject of restraining and safety seats, through the distractions they pose and other issues.
- Consider the time it takes for the children to get arranged and come into the car when, so that it doesn't make you late.
- Harness all children in the suitable safety seat/booster. Buckle them safely inside the seat and harness their seat snuggly to the car's seat. There's a lot to know here, and maybe I will elaborate on this later.
- Use small pillows to support the heads of the children when they fall asleep in the car. Other than being more comfortable to them, it provides additional, priceless support for the neck in collisions.
- Find a few ways to keep the children entertained during the drive. This will help in keeping them quiet.
- Place children in the back, and preferably in the middle of the back seat. The safest seats of the car are the middle rear seat, the right-rear seat, the left-rear seat, the front passenger seat and most hazardous is the driver's seat. Be warned: a child or baby in the front seat is placed under risk and creates a significant distraction to the driver.
- Do not turn around or look in the mirror as to what happens behind. Choose an older child or your partner to occupy and look after the children.
- If there is a need to monitor the children in the back seat, do not use a convex mirror and do not set the interior mirror down towards the backseat. Instead, you can use a vaccum-adhesive mirror which can be placed on the top of the windshield and to the right, or a small mirror that fits on the on the head restraint (for seeing a child which is harnessed when facing backwards). In either case, the mirror needs to be made out of tempered glass.
- Do not pull over on highways! A crying child does not mean the end of the world. By pulling over you are putting yourself and the child in an enormous, perfectly avoidable, risk.
- In long drives of over two hours, stop on an hourly basis for ten minutes. This kind of stop is important for your focus in the long drives with the noise of the children, and helps in keeping them more quite too.
- Children in the car are enough of a distraction by themselves, do not add anything to it. Don't talk on the phone, regardless of whether it's hands free or not, unless you can pull over safely (i.e. in an area which is perfectly segregated from traffic).
Joined: Aug 02, 2006
Posts: 705
Location: McLean, VA, USA
Posted:
Sat Jul 02, 2011 8:01 am
Would agree to Astraist on most, except may be for pulling over on a highway, as usual. It is often much less risk IMO to pull over than to continue to drive with such a distraction as screaming child.
Also, not looking in the mirror does not sound as a practical advice to me. I usually drive with my central mirror tilted down when I have kids in the car. So I can see both their heads and a road behind
And yes, to OP, mothers (and fathers!) are the most distracted drivers around.
Not looking in the mirror is practical when there is an older child or one's wife, which can be held responsible for what's happening inside the car, leaving the driver to focus merely on driving. If you drive with little children in the back and no one to care for them other than yourself, purchase a vacuum adhesive mirror to monitor the inside of the car, and keep the stock interior mirror adjusted to view what's outside the car. Do not adjust the original mirror downward and do not mount a convex mirror over the original one. With children in rear-facing seats there is a need for a small mirror, mounted over the head restraint, which allows to see them through the interior mirror or the additional mirror. All such mirrors should be made of tempered glass, and fitted snuggly and safely relative to airbags.
Yes i agree mothers are distracted drivers. Then again so are fathers, babysitters, nanny's, and grandparents. Anyone one with kids in the car is and can be distracted. The tips you listed are good for anyone not just moms. a woman who is not a parent will still apply make up. Also no one, not just moms should be answering a phone while driving.
Joined: Aug 02, 2006
Posts: 705
Location: McLean, VA, USA
Posted:
Fri May 11, 2012 9:31 pm
Not only teenagers unfortunately. Lately I see a lot of drivers making some weird moves on the road, and when I have a chance to take a look at the driver - every one of them is texting... Crazy times
Not only teenagers unfortunately. Lately I see a lot of drivers making some weird moves on the road, and when I have a chance to take a look at the driver - every one of them is texting... Crazy times
At my age I will never understand the "telephone addiction" phenomenon. A few months ago a tragic accident occured on a local 2 lane moderately curvy 55mph road. Conditions were: daylight. clear, and dry. On a straight portion of the road a 20 something female crossed the centerline and collided head-on with another vehicle. Driver and passenger in the oncomming vehicle suffered minor injuries. The at fault driver suffered non-life threatening injuries. Her boyfriend passenger died at the scene. She confessed that she was texting. I have had a question nagging me. Why was the passenger not doing the texting???
Last edited by sgtrock21 on Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: Aug 02, 2006
Posts: 705
Location: McLean, VA, USA
Posted:
Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:09 pm
I don't know SQT. I can understand many distractions, and sometimes am/was guilty of some, yet things like reading or texting while driving are way beyond my understanding.
lol do you know that text messaging has actually become the most popular way of communication here in Uk? (this is a according to the latest figures published in The Independent btw.)
It says that texting has overtaken speaking on a mobile phone and face-to-face contact between friends and family!
Here are the facts:
"- More than half (58%) of UK adults use text messages at least once a day to communicate with family and friends.
- This is more than the figure for face-to-face contact (49%), speaking on a mobile phone (47%) and social networking (33%).
- Text messaging is used by 90% of 16 to 24-year-olds to communicate at least once a day with friends and family, followed by social networking (74%), mobile phone calls (67%) and face-to-face contact (63%). "
Are you surprised then that people can't stop texting while driving. I think some are even addicted to it!
And Astraist just added the most helpful (and thorough) advice of all!
I like the idea of carrying a little pillow just in case children want to nap in the car - and also to keep them safe.
I found a neck pillow at a thrift store I think it was home made as there is no manufacturer marks or tags. It has I guess I must call them large lapels which fit under the shoulder straps. It works perfectly. My Grandson sometimes falls asleep when we are traversing a road which is quite 'twisty'. The pillow is very effective in preventing his head from slapping back and forth. Prior to the pillow I would just try to corner at very slow speed but even at slow speed "physics are physics".
Last edited by sgtrock21 on Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:17 pm; edited 1 time in total
lol do you know that text messaging has actually become the most popular way of communication here in Uk? (this is a according to the latest figures published in The Independent btw.)
It says that texting has overtaken speaking on a mobile phone and face-to-face contact between friends and family!
Here are the facts:
"- More than half (58%) of UK adults use text messages at least once a day to communicate with family and friends.
- This is more than the figure for face-to-face contact (49%), speaking on a mobile phone (47%) and social networking (33%).
- Text messaging is used by 90% of 16 to 24-year-olds to communicate at least once a day with friends and family, followed by social networking (74%), mobile phone calls (67%) and face-to-face contact (63%). "
Are you surprised then that people can't stop texting while driving. I think some are even addicted to it!
Unless my text response (Not while driving) is more complicated than "OK, yes, no, or thanks I will just call. I don't see the value of text if you can call.
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