Distracted driving is very dangerous. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it simply means that a driver's focus is stolen or divided, doing something else while driving. It is reported that more than nine are killed daily, while more than 1,153 people are injured from accidents that involve a distracted driver.
Driving safety group TextingAndDrivingSafety.com stated that texting while driving is a growing national epidemic that is becoming one of the country's top killers. Statistics mean facts, and these are some of them:
- In 2011, at least 23% of car crashes were involving the use of cell phones;
- A car crash is 23 times more likely to happen when a driver is texting; and
- Thirteen percent (13%) of teens aged 18-20 involved in car crashes admit to using their mobile devices at the time of crash.
Knowing these, it would be best to know what measures to use to stop your kids from texting or using their mobile phones while driving. Here are some things you can do to stop your teens from doing so.
Live2Txt
A Verizon recommendation, Live2Txt is an Android app that allows users to block incoming calls and texts. Simply download the app and turn it 'on' before driving, so that all incoming notifications, texts, and calls will be silenced. It will even alert the sender that you can't respond because you're driving, too.
Canary
This iOS/Android app gives instant feedback on your kids' driving. Parents can set maximum driving speed and set predefined safe driving areas. When these get violated, parents will receive alerts.
TXT Shield
Today recommends downloading TXT Shield. It's an Android app that connects to a device's GPS and location trackers, then shuts off the ability to send and receive texts.
SafeTexting R
An iOS app, SafeTexting R doesn't stop your kids from texting but it does give helpful reminders that might help teens ignore or stop using their phones while driving.
Modeling
Of course, it's still best for parents to model "don't text while driving" to their kids. Diana Graber, co-founder of the digital literacy site CyberWise.org, told CNN that parents do a tremendous disservice to their kids when they text and drive.
"We have to remember that every time we do that, there's a child watching," Graber explained. "Maybe it's a child that's not even watching yet but they're going to remember that that's a behavior that we have condoned."
