Digital Life: Breaking urge to use smartphone while driving
Paste BN columnist Steven Petrow offers advice about digital etiquette.
You've likely seen some of the headlines about AT&T's most recent survey about smartphones and driving. Frankly, they're frightening: 40 percent of smartphone users admit to tapping into social media while driving; nearly 30 percent say they go web surfing while in the driver's seat; and more than 60 percent of us confess that we text and drive. We also take selfies and video chat while in the driver's seat. And we used to think talking on the phone was the most irresponsible – and dangerous -- thing anyone could do behind the wheel.
"While the activities are changing, the reasons people engage in them while driving remain the same," explained Dr. David Greenfield, founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction. "Those activities are very engaging, and can be addictive. The compulsive pull to engage in them does not stop when we get into our car, and when people continue while driving, the result can be deadly."
Eek.
I guess it's time for me to come out of the closet on this issue. I've written often about the dangers of driving with a smartphone in hand, because no form of manners is more important than safety: Yours, mine, and ours. But I've not raised my hand previously to say, "Yes, I'm guilty here, too."
I'm not a member of a twelve-step program, but I do know that one of the first steps is to acknowledge your mistakes as a way to take ownership of them. Here goes: Yes, I have texted while in the driver's seat. Yes, I have Googled while driving. Yes, I have taken photos from behind the wheel.
What's my rationale? Like many of you, according to the AT&T study, I think I can multitask. I think I'm invulnerable. I believe people expect me to reply to them right away. I get bored. I feel addicted to my phone. I've never had a problem controlling the car. Yada, yada, yada. Or in other words, I'm making excuses. Lots of them.
In a statement announcing a new phase of the AT&T "It Can Wait" campaign, the telecom's global marketing officer said: "When we launched 'It Can Wait' five years ago, we pleaded with people to realize that no text is worth a life. The same applies to other smartphone activities that people are doing while driving. For the sake of you and those around you, please keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone."
What am I going to do? Part of the twelve-step tradition is to learn to live a new life with a new code of behavior. To start off, I've downloaded AT&Ts "Drive Mode" app, which can be automatically enabled when I'm driving 15 mph or more to silence text messages. If I had kids with driver's licenses, the app would also alert me if they turned it off while in the car. Other similar apps include DriveSafe Mode and LifeSaver: Distracted Driving. I've also taken the "It Can Wait" pledge – along with nearly 7 million others currently -- to keep my hands (and eyes) off my phone while I'm behind the wheel.
Beyond that, I'm not going to keep my phone within easy access while driving (putting in the glove department or trunk), which I hope will break my Pavlovian response to simply pick it up. I'm going to turn off alerts on the phone so I won't even be tempted to reach for it. (You might even want to turn it off completely.) And I'm going to use my new app -- not just look at it on the screen. I'm going to take it one day at a time, starting today.
What about you? Let me know in the comments section.
Submit your question to Steven at stevenpetrow@earthlink.net. You can also follow Steven on Twitter: @StevenPetrow. Or like him on Facebook at facebook.com/stevenpetrow.