SO, WHAT DO I NEED TO LEARN?
the danger of distractions
dISTRACTIONS COME EASILY
It can be really easy to get distracted by your surroundings once you start learning to drive. This can happen through looking different ways, taking your hands off of the wheel, distracting noises or thinking about things that don’t have to do with the road and you’re driving, like what you’re going to eat for dinner. You can also be too distracted by your surroundings, like looking off to the side of the road and your hands turning the wheel to follow your direction. So, while you should be looking out for things happening around you, you also need to focus on the road in front of you.
The biggest distraction for most of us is our phones
You might get sucked in to a call or text from someone and want to check it quickly to see if it’s important, or you might get a snap or Insta DM and think you can take a quick peek and send a cheeky reply. It could also be you changing the music on your Spotify playlist because you wanted to listen to a different song or fiddling with Google/Apple maps so you can get to the next destination.
Even though these may seem like small distractions that don’t do much harm, they do have a big impact on your driving as they take up a lot of your focus and attention, which takes away from the attention you can give the road. The easiest way to not be distracted by your phone while driving is by turning it off, putting it on silent, or putting it into airplane mode and putting it somewhere where you won’t be tempted to look at it. Don’t look at your phone while driving, pull over if you need to and check it then.
If you are caught driving while fiddling with your phone you can expect to be hit with a $150 fine and 20 demerit points.
Here are some easy ways to limit your distractions
- Turn off any devices while you’re driving and asking passengers to be quiet.
- Make sure your windows and mirrors are clean so you can see clearly.
- Know your route before you’re on the road, this will help you focs on driving.
- Take regular breaks by stopping somewhere safe so you can talk, eat, drink or check your phone.
- If you are tired or unwell, you should also take more regular breaks to keep yourself and others safe on the road.
MOBILES DO HAVE AN IMPACT ON YOUR DRIVING
- Over 40,000 mobile-phone related offences were committed in 2021 alone by New Zealand drivers, causing a total of $4.9 million in fines.
- 15 fatal crashes were caused from 2016 to 2020 from use of cell phones while driving.
- Driver distractions cause 8% of all crashes on the road.
- Between 2015 and 2019, 22 people died from an accident with a mobile phone involved.
