Apple’s New Feature Fights Distracted Driving
You’re driving, your phone buzzes, you see it’s a text and you reach down for it… even though you’re going 70+ MPH down the freeway, coffee in hand. We all have cell phones, we’ve all done it, and although we know it’s dangerous, it’s hard not to – I know! But paying attention to anything but the road while driving is considered a distraction.
In 2017, it’s not just road hazards or traffic conditions that lead to dangerous driving. According to the CDC, approximately 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 are injured daily in the U.S. in crashes reportedly caused by distracted drivers. For motorists, a distraction can mean many more things than just texting and driving. In fact, there are three major types of distraction:
- VISUAL – taking your eyes off the road
- MANUAL – taking your hands off the wheel
- COGNITIVE – taking your mind off driving
Many everyday distractions fall under at least one of the above categories.
With the recent iOS 11 launch, it appears Apple and Android have finally woken up to these dangerous facts. While you’re able to download an app to prevent incoming and outgoing messages, you no longer need to. As of September 2017, Apple has integrated optional DO NOT DISTURB features specifically for when users are driving.
When enabled, the Do Not Disturb While Driving feature will automatically turn on when it senses the acceleration of a vehicle, and you can even opt to have it auto-enable whenever it connects to your car’s Bluetooth. The safety feature will mute calls, texts, and other notifications, but not block them completely.
When a friend tries to text you with the feature on, they’ll get the following message:
“I’m driving with Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on. I’ll see your message when I get where I’m going. (I’m not receiving notifications. If this is urgent, reply “urgent” to send a notification through with your original message.)”
Of course, the features are all customizable; learn more about how to use and customize them here.
Social media and texting make it so easy to multitask, tricking our brains into thinking we can do it all at once. The reality is, we can’t. The Do Not Disturb While Driving feature is one small step that can help avoid causing a crash or worse, death. If we all take small steps such as this towards safety, we can achieve zero deaths on our roadways.
Take a look some of our Distracted Driving TV ads:
