Guest Post by Emma Stinchcombe

In a recent survey conducted by the Health and Executive, it was revealed  that 20 people are killed and 250 people are seriously injured each week due to road accidents. Studies reveal that those involved are people who drive for work purposes.

Police officers are now looking into this shocking statistic and are beginning to add a section on their records where they will log whether the drivers involved were travelling on company business.

Additionally, the Metropolitan Police and several other forces have adopted a new routine when investigating road accidents. Forces have begun to investigate whether the company has carried out basic checks, including whether the driver is using the vehicle for work purposes, whether they have a valid driving license and whether the driver is insured to drive on business and has an MOT certificate for their vehicle.

Drivers who are found with no adequate insurance cover could be prosecuted.

It is important that all company drivers are introduced to safe driving policies to protect themselves and other drivers. Many drivers do not abide by the EU driver’s hours rules. Drivers who break this law are at a higher risk of causing a road traffic accident. They need to be think practically and drive safely, predicting the journey ahead.

Many company drivers use a hand-held mobile phone while driving. Although these originally were thought to be safer than mobile phones, hand-held devices are actually just as dangerous. Drivers can still cause a fatal accident as a result of being distracted at the wheel due to hand-free kits. Section 20 of the Road Safety Act 2006, states that an offence of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, which covers distractions that can lead to accidents, carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.

Smoking, drinking, personal grooming and using other technological aids are also seen as a distraction.

Driving is one of the most dangerous activities in the workforce, therefore employers need to make sure they are providing their drivers with necessary training. The reoccurrence of accidents on the roads has led the Health and Safety Executive to develop a legislation to ensure employees have appropriate policies, procedures and training put in place.  Defensive driving classes teach drivers how to drive defensively, avoiding collisions on the roads. They are designed for people who drive for work purposes. These workshops can help drivers improve their observation, journey planning, anticipation and concentration. Driving workshops make drivers noticeably more confident, productive and responsible.

Each driver who attends the workshops will keep a risk profile assessment to ensure the course is suitable to each driver’s needs.  Courses also stress the importance of eyesight and vehicle checks.  Though not all about driving, these courses will boast the highest performing drivers. Its aim is to reduce the risk of driving by anticipating dangerous situations and other peoples’ mistakes.

Defensive driving classes by Driving Risk Management can be taught in your local area. Driving Risk Management offers a range of fleet driver training and driver training programmes to meet the needs of your fleet business.

If you would like to view information about company driver training visit http://www.drivingriskmanagement.co.uk.

Guest Post by Jamie Gibbs

It might be that you’ve been involved in a car accident in the past and so you’re reluctant to start driving again. It could be that you’ve just not driven in a long time and you’re looking to get back on the road. Whatever the reason, driving after some time away can be as daunting as it is exciting. Here are a few tips to help you get back on the road with confidence.

Confidence comes from experience

Don’t expect to hop in the car and drive off into the sunset on your first attempt. While it’s likely that you’ll never really forget how to drive a car, you’re probably a bit rusty and have lost a lot of ‘the knack’ for driving. If your confidence is completely shot, take smaller but more frequent trips to get used to being in the car and to the roads. Gradually ease yourself into more complicated situations like driving in heavy traffic and reverse parking. Don’t overstretch yourself, but don’t shy away from anything either. The trick is to challenge yourself just a little each time until you’ve regained your confidence.

Safety in numbers

Where possible, have an experienced driver sit in with you while you drive. Having an extra person ride along with you will give you a boost in confidence and will give you someone who can offer advice if you need it. Think of them as a driving instructor who doesn’t give instructions. Having a driving buddy will also be able to help you talk through any anxieties you have while driving.

Get back on the horse

Depending on your circumstances and the reasons why you stopped driving, the length of time before you’re able to get back on the road will vary. However, as soon as you’ve decided that you want to start driving again, don’t hesitate. The longer you wait or put it off, the less experienced you become and the less confident you will be. Some people are able to get into a hire car and drive off mere hours after having an accident, and some part of this is not giving yourself time enough to become nervous about driving; in a sense, shocking your system into carrying on regardless. The sooner you get back on the road, the easier it will be for you. If it’s the case that you’re recovering from an accident, then make sure that you’re medically okay to drive.

Consider getting help

Think about the possibility of taking a few driving lessons to reacquaint yourself with the road using a qualified instructor. There are also short refresher driving courses that you can take to help you out. It might be a point of personal pride to drive again with will power alone, but it could be a lot safer to use a professional to give you a hand.

Get in touch with your insurer

If you haven’t been driving for an extended period of time, it’s likely that you don’t have a car anymore, or that it’s off the road. In either case, your car insurance has probably lapsed. Make sure that you have up to date insurance on your car and that all documentation and servicing is up to date - it could be the case that your car is rustier than you are.

This guest post was written free of charge by Jamie Gibbs of Confused.com, the breakdown cover comparison site.

Guest post by Devlin Decker

Speeding is far and away one of the most common mistakes made by drivers on the road. Whether it’s caused from impatience, unawareness or just someone who feels the need for speed is the way to go, it’s a far too common problem on the road. And within every city, drivers have grown accustomed to which parts of the city are more lax than others when it comes to cracking down on speeders. Sometimes this comes down to certain speed zones, private sectors vs. busier public transits like freeways, and four-lane major roadways or other circumstances.

Yet, some speeders feel jilted when they are pulled over because they get snared in a speed trap. Speed traps shouldn’t be termed a trap if the main objective for law enforcement is to make the roads safer for everyone.

With that said, there are three main zones where a so-called “speed trap” is necessary, especially when so many drivers complain about them or, when they’re pulled over, drivers plead ignorance to the officer about not knowing such a zone existed.

1. School Zones: School zones have restricted speed limits both in the early morning and late in the afternoon because these are the obvious times children are dropped off and picked up at school. So when speeders get caught in this zone, they shouldn’t consider it a speed trap.  The police officer camped out in the parking lot is trying to keep the school zone a safe haven for everybody. And believe me, officers are not trying to make quota with speed traps in school zones.  They save that for neighborhood streets and other areas that generally don’t receive much heavy traffic.

2. Work Sites/Construction Zones: One of the most heavily ignored areas that sprout speeders on a daily basis are construction sites. Most construction sites are little projects littered throughout the city streets, yet there are the occasional monster projects on highways that stretch for a mile or two. Lanes are condensed into one and when traffic jams ensue, impatience runs at an all-time high in the minds of some drivers.  This, in and of itself, can cause drivers to try and speed their way around the construction zone, ignore workers who are directing traffic or can cause other unsafe driving practices. I’ve seen cops stationed somewhere at the beginning, middle or end of a site hoping to pick off impatient drivers.

Again, this isn’t a speed trap. Construction zones require drivers to drive at a safer, slower pace for the protection of both the workers on site and also the cars passing by as well.

3. Highway Shoulders: Speeders who feel they’ve been wronged by getting pulled over on the highway generally aren’t seeing the bigger picture. Cops who are stationed along the shoulders as cars are coming around a bend aren’t considered a speed trap. Same for patrol cars stationed in the shoulder area of when the highway splits off into two directions. These are merely stations for cops to patrol the flow of traffic and note whether some cars are exceeding the speed limits at a higher rate than others. Just hope the cop stationed on the highway shoulder isn’t a state trooper because more often than not, their patience wears thin for drivers going even five miles over the limit.


The only area of the road I really consider a “speed trap” is for patrols that sit at the bottom of steep hills knowing a driver may tend to exceed the limit more often than not because of such a steep incline. But then again, it’s all about being safe whether driving down, up or straight on a road. Don’t be a speeder who claims ignorance when getting pulled over in school zones and work sites for going 10, 15 or more over the limit. It won’t matter.  Not only do fines double in these areas, but claiming you didn’t see the multiple signs or flashing signals as you made your way up to the area isn’t wise.  No matter what the argument it will never make up for the fact that it was aggressive driving in every sense of the word.

About the Author: Devlin is a an automotive enthusiast who works to inform readers on safe driving tips, driver awareness methods and other practices to help make the roads better for everyone. Aside from freelance writing, he works as a consultant for State Line Nissan, a local car dealer in KC that provides a collection of new and used cars.

Guest Post by  Edson Farnell

Many makes and models of hybrid cars are achieving an astonishing 40 to 50 miles-per-gallon (or mpg). These vehicles are also becoming much more cost effective, but this is no consolation if you can’t afford to run out and purchase one. Many government and private organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Energy, are urging consumers to trade in their old gas guzzlers for a new fuel efficient, or hybrid, model. Unfortunately, this isn’t economically feasible for everyone, forcing them to rely on their wits as well as a few tips and tricks to save money at the pump. There are, however, several ways you can lessen your burden at the gas pump, read on: 

Lighten Your Car’s Load

Americans use their car’s trunk as a makeshift, mobile storage unit. According to United States Department of Energy, removing an extra 100 pounds of unneeded objects – including golf clubs, yard sale finds, and your kid’s hockey gear —  translates into a mpg reduction of around 2 percent. The more weight you remove relative to your vehicle’s weight, the greater the mpg savings.

Maintain Your Vehicle

Keep your vehicle in optimum working order is one of the best ways to conserve fuel economy. Start with your tires; keep them inflated to their proper pressure, which also extends the tire’s life and translates into a safer journey. Have your engine serviced and ask the mechanic to pay special attention to the oxygen sensor. Having a faulty oxygen sensor replaced can improve your mpg by up to 40 percent. Keeping your AC compressor parts up to date can prolong the life of your AC compressor. When you don’t have to replace the entire compressor you can easily find AC compressor parts listings online. Retain your engine’s oil reservoir filled with the proper motor oil grade. If your owner’s manual recommends 10W-30, fill it accordingly and stay current on your vehicle’s oil change schedule to raise mpg and keep the engine in good working order.

Know Your Surroundings

Remember back to the gallons of gas wasted by looking for an address in a nearby town or driving around looking for your friend’s house. Maps are sufficient when attempting to hit a larger target, but for more precise directions, it’s best to invest in a quality GPS. Many smartphones are equipped with GPS service, too, at no extra fee.

On the Road

Safety and fuel economy go hand-in-hand. When on the road, avoid playing the constant acceleration, braking and speeding game to not only avoid a potential accident, but to also keep your mpg under control. Aside from being the law, observing the speed limit can actually prevent unnecessary trips to the gas pump. Become friendly with your cruise control and use it when you’re on long commute or family road trip. Maintaining a constant speed is an excellent way to keep your gas in the tank.

Introduce Your Car to the Garage

Consider alternative modes of transportation to get back and forth from work, your friend’s home or a quick trip to the corner grocery store. On a sunny day, pull out your bike instead of taking your car to purchase a bottle of soda from the gas station. If you live within a few blocks of work, put your feet to the sidewalk instead of your pedal to the metal to conserve fuel and cut down on dangerous carbon dioxide emissions. Periodically use public transportation to get to work or organize a car pool with your fellow employees. Many of these strategies translate into a 100% savings on gas and that is ultimately the best way to save money at the pump.

Use Your Smartphone Wisely

Nothing is more frustrating than filling up your gas tank, only to drive a few blocks and notice lower prices at a rival gas station. Save yourself from this unnecessary frustration by downloading a gas price app on your smartphone. These apps, including ones offered from AAA, CheapGas, and GasBuddy, let you know which gas station is offering the lowest prices in your area. It may only be a few pennies in savings each fill up, but the money saves definitely adds up after a while.

Be wary of gimmicks, infomercials and gas station additives that promise to increase fuel efficiency. For the most part, these products have no effect and will only waste your time and money.

When in doubt, speak to a licensed mechanic before pouring any questionable products into your gas tank.

This post was written and contributed by Edson Farnell. Edson writes about various automotive topics. Many of Edson’s friends refer to him as the Auto Parts Geek.

For instance, when was the last time you used your cell phone on the road? A day? Weeks? Or maybe you’re reading this post on your phone while sitting at a red light? Unless you don’t have a cell phone, you’ve probably whiffed on every answer. Drivers of all age - and this especially applies to teenagers - will use their phone in one form or another while behind the wheel. Take into account that texting or talking on the phone reduces the brain’s attention span percentage by nearly 37%, if not more, and it becomes a cause for alarm. This is but one of the many distractions drivers take part in.

Whether it’s distractions or simple driving mistakes, every driver needs to put the onus on themselves to reduce these habits and focus more about getting to their destination as safe and proper as possible.

With that said, here are 8 mistakes many drivers fall prey to behind the wheel.

1. Mirror Placements: From not checking to see if your side mirrors or rear-view mirror is in its proper place to not deicing the mirrors during winter, this one’s a simple 1 or 2 minute process that can save you from getting into an accident or veering someone off the road on your blindside.

2. Cell Phones/Eating Food: As mentioned above, cell phones are one of the most serious offenses to proper driving because they divert way too much attention off the wheel. Same rule applies to eating. Trying to eat a sandwich or dig through a fast food bag for the last fry at the bottom doesn’t detract as much from brain activity, but it’s distracting nonetheless. Instead, wait til you get home to enjoy your meal.

3. Not Using Your E-Brake On a Slope: I’m sure if you live in San Francisco or on any side street in America that’s extremely angled downhill, chances are you’ve used your emergency brake to lock the car down completely. And if you haven’t, you might be wondering why your car’s grip on the road while parked isn’t what it used to be. The emergency brake is there for a reason outside of aiding last-minute stops.

4. Forgetting Turn Signals: Too many times I’ve witnessed accidents caused by a car not signaling on a turn. Whether it’s laziness or obliviousness, not using your blinker on a turn is not only illegal and cop-stop worthy, but it puts drivers behind you at risk of having to slam on the brakes unexpectedly or misinterpret where you’re going in the first place.

5. Being Too Aggressive: Defensive driving doesn’t mean you can partake in offensive driving to counteract another driver. Just because a driver’s going a little under the speed limit or is braking sooner than normal doesn’t mean the other driver should tailgate or speed around them and cut them off. Often times the aggressive drivers are rushing to beat lights or get somewhere quickly and the funny thing about that is, both the aggressive and defensive driver will sometimes eventually meet up at yet another light. Just because you sped past one light doesn’t mean you’ll make it through the next one up ahead.

6. Slamming The Gas From A Dead Stop: Peeling out not only damages the tread on your tires very quickly, it also can damage the intake system and the transmission or engine itself. Constantly feeling the need to jam the pedal within city streets usually means harder braking for lights or stop lights a few hundred yards up the road.

7. Not Having Your Lights On At Dusk: This is more for letting you have as much clarity in front of you while also informing oncoming drivers of your presence as well. And don’t be one of those people who keeps their brights running after turning them on for darker than normal parts of the road. Brights are there to help maximize the most light possible but can also send oncoming cars into a blur for a few seconds.

8. Not Changing Lanes When Needed: The shoulder lanes of the road are for emergency stops, stalled cars, road crews and space for cars that are pulled over by the cops. Being that driver who decides to stick in the right lane and straddle the thin divider between highway and shoulder are putting the lives of any and all who are on the shoulder at risk. And with the high speeds and wind pull that happens to a car from another when flying by that close, it can cause accidents. If you’re unable to change lanes one over because of traffic next to you, slow down your pace as much as you can without jamming up traffic behind you, then wait for your opportunity to switch your lane.

There are many more errors, for sure, but these are some of the most egregious errors drivers may find themselves in from time to time. Being a safe driver is all about patience, accountability, focus and know-how. Some may scoff at how much rules have changed with highway speed limits, restrictions for devices allowed in the car or the fact that there’s no U.S. version of the Autobahn, but at the end of the day, it’s all about safety and awareness and seeing to the well-being of every driver on the road.

About The Author: Kyle is an avid automotive researcher, freelance writer and contributor for a local car dealer in Kansas City that works with used Chevy cars, auto repairs and much more.

Guest Post contributed by Hayley Spencer

The speed limits set by law are designed to help protect drivers, yet many people do not actually follow them — at least not all the time. The most basic reason for this is that many motorists feel safe driving at a faster speed. They ask, at least subconsciously, why they should be forced to slow down and take longer to reach their destination when they can drive a little faster and still be perfectly safe? This speed — the speed at which a person still feels in control of their vehicle for specific road conditions — is known as a "natural speed limit". Often drivers follow this natural speed limit rather than the posted speed limit.

I-15 Experiment

There is a lonely stretch of road that connects central and southern Utah. This road section is a part of I-15, and for years drivers have been driving faster on it than the official speed limit, with the average car traveling between 80 and 85 miles per hour. This stretch of road has very few twists and turns, and tended to contain a fairly light police presence — hence the comfort many drivers felt with driving above the legal limit.

Due to all these factors, Utah legislators used this section of I-15 for an experiment. Instead of posting the typical speed limit of 60 miles per hour on this road, they allowed 80 MPH signs to be posted in 2008 — approximately the same speed that most cars traveled on it anyway. Some analysts expected the average speed to increase drastically after this change, potentially resulting in an increased rate of collisions and other traffic accidents.

Experiment Results

However, that is not what happened. Analysts actually found that the majority of the drivers on this section of road continued driving at about the same speed they had used before the limit change. The average speed for all cars became 83 to 85 miles per hour. Aside from this relatively minor statistical variation, drivers did not change their speed on this road.

The experiment proved that people tend to follow their natural speed limit, no matter what the official speed limits on road signs. They may decrease their speed on a road that has a lot of police officers patrolling it, but this is only to reduce their risk of paying a heavy fine due to a speeding ticket. Is this a safety risk? Apparently not; people naturally drive only as fast as they are able while still remaining safe, so the experiment had no significant negative effects in terms of driver safety.

 
Conclusion

This study indicated that natural speed limits will always be used regardless of legal speed limits. All drivers naturally have an internal speedometer that tells them how fast they can drive safely in light of the current road conditions, weather, traffic and similar factors. That is why traffic slows significantly below the posted speed limits during bad weather or other conditions that make driving faster unsafe. Natural speed limits may not be installed nationwide anytime soon, but evidence suggests that this would free stretched police resources to handle more serious issues, while not negatively impacting road safety.

Post contributed by Hayley Spencer, on behalf of LawyerLocater.com, legal professional DWI and DUI lawyers.

I was rudely introduced to Group Text Messaging this weekend when my youngest grandson (with his shiny new I Phone), gleefully added my cell phone number (along I guess with just about every phone number he had) into a new Text Messaging Group he was experimenting with.  It wasn’t his fault.  He simply didn’t realize the destructive power of what he was doing.

So I was happily buzzing around outside doing some spring time yard work when my phone announced it was receiving a text message.  Okay, no problem.  Who wants me?  I went to look at the message but before I could even read it, another message started coming in.  Then another.

Suddenly they were coming in so fast I couldn’t even open or read them, all multi-media texts.  Forget about even trying to answer them, or using the phone for a call.  I had a problem!

Now when you’re used to getting a text maybe every other day or so and you’re suddenly getting fifty texts in as many seconds, you gotta know you’ve got a problem – especially if your cell phone plan doesn’t have unlimited texts.  I immediately shut the phone down, figuring maybe some foreign power was spamming every phone in America or something.

A quick check on the internet didn’t suggest any such thing so I tried powering the phone on again.  I was barely able to see that a couple of the texts were coming from my beloved little cherub when suddenly I started receiving more.  I had to power the phone off again.  Couldn’t even use it they were coming in so fast!

Suspecting that a new I Phone might just have something to do with this ugly little issue, a land-line call to the unsuspecting culprit confirmed my suspicions.  I had been placed in a Text Messaging Group.  I was getting texts from not only my grandson, but from everyone in the group.  I didn’t even have to give my okay to be added to group.  He had been able to do it for me, without even my knowledge!  Kinda scary.

After about an hour on the phone with my cell phone provider (still not fully understanding what this Group Texting thing was all about), I was able to block all texts from Web or Internet sites which is apparently the medium most used for these devious little assaults.

Also, the unsuspecting perpetrator of this incident and his father were apparently able to shut down the group and I can once again use my cell phone for its intended purpose. But the fact that I didn’t even have to approve being in the “group” really got me curious.
 

Then it started to dawn on me.  This could be a seriously destructive concept.  Even with Face Book (in my humble opinion the most blatant assault on personal privacy ever devised by mankind) you have to give your permission to “friend” someone before you become privy to every nose-bleed they or any of their other friends ever get.  With this Group Texting thing, I didn’t even have to approve it.  The organizer of the group simply approved it for me.

Next, I got a call from my other son.   “What’s this @#!!@* Group Messaging thing?  I’m getting multiple crazy texts from people I don’t even know!”  Seems Uncle had been added to the group too.

I Googled “Group Text Messaging” this morning and quickly realized that, Yup – this could really be serious stuff”!

First of all, apparently when you respond to a message from a group member, every member in the group gets your response!  It’s seems it’s like hitting “Reply All” to an email message only you don’t even know who the “alls” are.  You don’t even know there are “alls.”  Cool stuff.

So I get a message and I reply.

“You know – that blankety-blanking, blankety-blank, is really a blankety- blanking, blankety-blank.”

Your intended recipient gets your response.  So does Blankety-Blank.  So does everyone else in the group – the group you didn’t even know you were in!  Doesn’t take too much imagination to suggest where that could take you!  Not too blankety-blanking good.

But it’s apparently worse!  You can be placed in a group without even knowing it, as I was.  Now you’re getting texts from everyone in the group.  So a marketing guru sets up a group with multiple numbers.  How long will it be before five year old females are getting multiple Viagra text messages – and multiple responses to them?  That would be interesting.

Or perhaps one of our foreign adversaries obtains a few million phone numbers and adds them to a group.  Every one of those cell phones is down for the ten-count because of overpowering text messages?  The most devious hacker in his pajamas couldn’t dream up such simple way to collapse every cell phone in the country!

Now don’t get me wrong.  I have nothing against social media and group text messaging – as long as I’m able to control what group I’m in.  But I sure don’t want to be part of a group without even knowing it.

Am I nuts in thinking that this could truly be a case where technology blows itself up and renders all cell phones totally obsolete?  Seems to me that if the FCC doesn’t jump on this pretty quickly, it could be!

Okay, I’m old enough to remember how we somehow survived BC (before cell phone).  But I still do kinda like the concept.  They’re neat little devices and even though I could survive without mine, I’ve gotta admit I’d kind of miss it!  But in today’s age?  No cell phones?  Many would rather give up food and water!

So what does this have to do with driving?  Well one thing’s for sure.  With the entire cell phone population rendered totally dysfunctional due to incessant and uncontrollable receipt of text messages caused by Group Text Messaging, Driving would certainly be safer!

I hope I’m missing something here though!  Am I just naïve and over-reacting?  What do you guys & gals think?

Guest Post from Tom Mallet

Time is the most valuable thing you can give to a learner driver. Teaching them to drive is an investment in their life and their adulthood.

It feels good to do things that really make a difference to other people. One of the ways you can do this is by adding your child to your car insurance policy and sparing time to teach them to drive. The time that you give to your child can literally save their life and provide them with necessary skills for adulthood. Learner drivers are only very rarely in accidents, but P-platers are the highest risk group. For this reason, the investment of time which you make in them as learners is vitally important if you want to impart wisdom and keep them safe.

Time Matters

There is no doubt that driving is an essential part of living life in the western world. Everything we do for leisure, sport, work and entertainment relies on a motor vehicle to get you there. Yes, you could take a bus, but this is far more time-consuming and it limits your freedom to explore. Young people are constantly developing and it is your role as a friend or parent to help guide them through this process. Driving is one particular area in which you can have a huge input, because people learn from those around them. Demonstrating good driving practices and leading by example is important – someone’s attitude to driving can have an effect on their lifespan in many cases. Imparting your wisdom is one of the best ways to keep a young person safe.

Do I Have to Teach Them?

Few people can afford 120 hours of professional driving lessons and the extra cost of at least one test. Children will look to their parents for guidance and it is up to you whether you can spare the time to impart your knowledge of safe driving to your child. The time that you invest is really an investment in your child’s safety and you do not have to be a professional for it to count. Sitting with them in the car and imparting what you know about driving will be invaluable to that learner. You can provide a basic level of knowledge and help raise their confidence as a driver. As long as you provide them with consistent practice, you will be able to help them learn very quickly.

Tips for Making Time

Learning to drive does not need to be a fixed arrangement. You can incorporate learner driver practice into your everyday routine, and this will provide some of the best experience. A surprise 5-minute drive to the shops can be as valuable in many ways as an hour-long drive along a highway. It will get your learner used to coping with the pressure of finding somewhere to park, dealing with distracted drivers and pedestrians, and making driving a normal part of life. This normalization of driving is a very important step towards giving your learner the confidence to tackle their driving test.

Beyond the Test
Remember that passing your driving test does not make you a great driver. P-platers are more likely to have an accident, and a serious accident, than any other drivers and this is reflected in the cost of their auto insurance. By providing continuing guidance and support you will help them to develop a proper understanding of safe-driving practices which could save their lives and the lives of others.

Author Bio: Tom Mallet is an Australian freelance writer and journalist. He writes extensively in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the US. He’s published more than 500 articles about various topics.
 
Note from Driverthink:  In Australia, novice drivers must place a special plate on their vehicles noting their provisional, probationary or restricted status. They are called “P Platers.”

Guest post from  Brooke Kerwin

Over the last few years, the fight to minimize distracted driving has largely focused on the effect had by the growth of mobile devices. Certainly there’s no questioning that the reliance on smart phones and other tech products have become a distraction point for those on the road, but often times it’s the in-car features and technology that can serve to hinder as well.

In the early months of 2012, lawmakers have been pushing back at automakers in an effort to highlight the dangers of in-car features becoming more complex over time. Just as smart phones and tablets have become more enticing, so have the features inside the car, such as top of the line GPS systems and stereo equipment.

The early push from lawmakers has included a proposed set of guidelines from the Department of transportation. They are very close in nature to a set of regulations on the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers set out about a decade ago. Even though they’ve come from the automobile side for a while, the new regulations would look to put the pressure on automakers from a government standpoint.

The smart phones and tablets that are taking over the tech market right now certainly have an impact on distracted driving, but the effect that some of the in car features can have should not be overlooked. GPS systems often help us with finding our way, but their ability to bring our eyes off the road can also be high. The systems in-car differs from portable GPS components in that they usually take up more space on the dashboard. The larger screen may not seem like that big of an issue, but with it being two to three times the size of a portable GPS system, the chances of drivers and passengers feigning more attention is higher.

Along with the in-car GPS systems, sound devices can also grab attention from the road. Many of the same interfaces with GPS capabilities now have controls for stereo and iPod controls. The tendency to keep looking at the interface is where the problem lies for distracted drivers. Guidelines that would look to limit the size of this technology in an automobile would be best served to help minimizing accidents because of distractions.

Many of these interfaces have looked towards social media and other capabilities to continue their development. The problem with that is its social media which has served as one of the main distraction points for drivers on smart phones. Having access in the dashboard would only end up providing more of a distraction to drivers in the end.

While technology will certainly become more complex and encompass more features over time, it’s likely that automobile makers will be forced to put the reigns down on their development. The consoles at the front of different automobiles will certainly have a limit on size into the future and it’s likely that the increased attention from the Department of Transportation, automakers will have to tighten development into the future.

Note from Driverthink:  Let’s be blunt.  I’m not a big fan of Government infringing on our individual rights but we don’t have the right to harm others.  One might suggest that our car manufacturers and irresponsible drivers are doing just that.  If car makers don’t have the responsibility to take safe driving seriously, then perhaps Government does have the right to at least highlight the issue.