Episode #3 - Distracted Driving

Coach and Miss Misty discuss what is distracted driving and ensure you are not the problem, how to recognize when other drivers are distracted and how to manage them once you do see them.

Transcript

L2D Better - Episode #3 - Distracted Driving

 [00:00:00] Well, welcome everybody to learn to drive better podcast presented by the Alaska driving Academy. I am coach Chris and I am accompanied by Miss Misty. Miss Misty. How's it going today? Miss Misty. It is going awesome today. It is. We're back from our vacation, business trip, whatever you want to call it. And we're now back in Alaska.

We are. We brought the beautiful weather with us too. [00:01:00] We did. Yes. You know, for the amount of time we spent down there, seven weeks, I think it only rained four times the entire time we were down there. So, Being in the Midwest. , I know now they're getting a lot of really bad weather and some thunderstorms, but for the most part, the weather is pretty mild, you know, in the Midwest.

, the time of year we go. It is. Yes. Right. Yeah. And not always. But in Alaska, it seems like our weather's pretty, I don't know, unpredictable. Yes, very much. So like if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes. It's probably going to change anyways. Yeah, that's pretty much how it is every day. Yeah, I find that if I look at my weather app that it will change the seven day forecast three times within one day.

I mean, everything to where it's supposed to snow the next couple of days to, [00:02:00] oh, it's only supposed to snow one of the days to no, we're supposed to have blue skies for the next four or five days, you know, I think you just have to leave the house and be prepared for anything. Yeah. But it is beautiful out there today.

It's probably in the mid to high fifties, , I think it was 57 last time I looked. Yeah. Beautiful weather out, not hardly a cloud in the sky. , just no wind. No. Yeah. Yeah. It was a really nice day. It is a beautiful day. It is. , and we're in full blown spring. We're in late April now. We are very little snow out there.

Very little snow. And I've actually started to see buds on the trees. They're starting to form. Yeah. And it'll take probably another month before we start seeing leaves. Probably. You know, a week before Memorial Day, you know, so, um, hopefully the weather holds out. I know, spring was pretty good for us this year.

We talked about in our last podcast, uh, breakup. Yes. [00:03:00] You know, the fact that we get a lot of snow and how long it stays, that when spring comes, all that snow has to go somewhere, obviously it turns into water because, you know, it turns into a hazard for us. And we talked about that a little bit.

, today we're going to talk about, , What are we talking about today? I believe we're going to talk about distracted driving. We are. We're going to talk about distracted driving. And I think that this discussion involves two different subject matters, meaning most people, when they think about distracted driving, think about making sure that they're not distracted.

, the different things that they need to do to make sure that they are safe on the road. Okay. But the other, , you know, the other part to this would be recognizing distracted drivers out there and how they are a danger to us. right? So we need not to be [00:04:00] distracted to make sure our focus is on the task of driving.

But we also need to recognize when other people are, , you know, they're distracted and they're not doing what they're supposed to because they're going to affect how You know, how safe we're going to be at that point. So let's start off with, being a distracted driver. So we talked before the, before the podcast that, before we came on the air, that there are basically three elements to distracted driving.

Remember what they were physical, physical distractions, visual, visual distractions, and mental and mental, and a combination of all three of those. So let's start off with. Physical distractions. Okay. , what they consider a physical distraction would be anything that causes you to remove one of your hands from the wheel for an extended period of time.

Now, a lot of people are like, well, I guess it's distracted driving. If I take my hand off the wheel to turn a turn signal on. No, [00:05:00] what we're talking about. , we're not using that hand to, And it's not involved in the act of driving. We're using it for some other purpose. , what are some examples of other purposes that we're using that hand for?

Eating. There we go. We're eating. Or drinking, like reaching in the bag, trying to get that french fry out. My favorite, because I hate cold french fries. Um, goodness. Eating, drinking, reaching for something. We've all done this, right? We're driving down the road and we, , have something sitting on the seat.

We hit the brakes or we make a turn and that thing comes off the seat. And now we're reaching across the floor. We're, we're not even sitting properly, , to get it or reaching in the back seat to make an adjustment with something. You know, grabbing a bottle of water, picking up some trash, something rolling around on the floor.

Whatever we're [00:06:00] doing, we have one hand on the wheel. We have one hand doing something else and we are no longer 100 percent focused on the act of driving. Yes. Okay. So that's an example of a distracted driving , physical, yes, physical. So let's talk about what a visual distraction would be. Oh, I see this all the time.

Visual is more of like looking at your gauges, not just glancing. , just because they don't, especially with my newer drivers, I get it where they are looking because they don't know just to move their eyeballs, not their whole head or mirrors, that kind of stuff, or even seeing things outside the vehicle.

You know, people walking, animals. For me, I am horribly a distraction because of cows. You know, yep, we go to the lower 48 and we talked about this and [00:07:00] in an earlier broadcast that Living in alaska. We have some critters up here that People from the lower 48 are not used to seeing particularly moose So we have moose about around every tree around every corner and , sometimes we have tourists that come up and They can't help but to Rubberneck Yes.

And look at the moose for an extended period of time. Well, for us, when we traveled down on the lower 48, Misty is a cow gazer. Miss Misty loves cows. Yes. She, she, she can't drive by any kind of open area and not look for cows, especially baby cows. And that's her favorite. I love baby cows. She loves her baby cows.

So, , with visual distraction. What we're talking about now is taking our eyes off the roadway. Okay. Now, [00:08:00] are there acts of driving which require eyes to not always be looking at the roadway in front of us? Yes, there are. Give me some examples of some acts of driving that would require us to move our eyes to something other than directly ahead.

A river mirror? There you go. We need to be aware of 360 degrees around our vehicle. Yep. We talked about that in one of our previous podcasts, is making sure you're aware of things around your vehicle. Yep. Not just behind you, but to The left and right and above. Yep. To the sides, above and below our vehicle.

Yep. Are there some things inside the vehicle that we need to look at? Yep. We should be looking, we should be glancing at our gauges, not looking at our gauges. There you go. And, , I, I do this as an example in class when I teach young students, the difference between looking and glancing. And while I'm lecturing, I'll tell them I'm going to look at my [00:09:00] computer and look at what time it is.

And I want all of them to look at me at my eyes and I'll glance down and pop back up and I'll say what the time is. They're surprised how quick that was and how much information I got from that quick glance. I don't need to stare at it to get the information. I just need to glance, especially if you're very familiar with the vehicle and you know exactly where that information is located, like where the speed is.

Right. That's true. , where the signals are, , what, uh, the oil gauge or the air pressure gauges, right? Knowing, being familiar with your gauges and knowing where they're at, it's a huge benefit to make sure that, , I can glance, get the information I need and get my eyes back where they need to be, which is on the roadway ahead of them.

, so, visual distractions are the act of luring our eyes to something other [00:10:00] than the act of driving. Some other examples, , that we see is road construction. right? You're looking at what they're doing on the road. , there's a change in traffic patterns, but instead of paying attention to the roadway, you're busy looking at, you know, the construction workers and what they're doing and what improvements they're making.

And Uh, you know, whether the, , road's going to be open soon or it's going to be closed later today, , accident scenes. Yes, emergency vehicles or emergency personnel. Yep. Especially when there is a collision on the road. Yes. , we get the gawkers, the rubber neckers. Yes. They want to see what's going on.

Right. And paying too much attention to that and not what we need to be paying attention to. Right. We have a rule in our vehicle in which when we come up on an accident scene, I'll make the announcement out loud in the vehicle that, all right, you guys look and tell me what's [00:11:00] going on. And I focus on the road 100 percent cause I know.

in that instance that there's other distracted drivers. There are people out there that are going to be rubbernecking. So I'm looking more for them. Then what's happening, you know, over at the accident scene, and I'll be honest with you. Most of the time we clear the accident scene and there's nothing to report.

Yeah, that is very true. You do that. Yeah. And we'll get down the road and I'm like, all right, what was that? And they're like, I don't know, the car just got smashed, you know, and I'm like, okay. Nothing. They're like, no. Couldn't even tell. Yeah. Couldn't even tell by that time the, you know, the wreck's putting it up there, or it's just another car with a bunch of damage on it.

I don't know what people are expecting to see in that situation and in the likelihood that it is a horrific scene. Do you really wanna be looking anyways? No, I don't wanna see that . Yeah, I don't wanna see that either. Right, right. So, I mean. , be smart about it, , keep our eyes where they need to be.

And, , what that brings us into [00:12:00] the third element of distracted driving, which is mental, Yes. And, , we actually just had a long discussion about this before we came on the air about mental distractions and there's two categories. There is inattentive driving, and that is when your mind is focused on.

, other things, , such as stress, stress, yeah, your life situations have gotten you into a mental state where you maybe are not in the best frame of mind to be driving. Even though you might have to do it, there's still that, that part there that says you shouldn't do it because you might be thinking about school or your parents or your life.

If you're, , an older driver. We have a lot of stress in our life that causes us to not be in the right frame of mind to be driving sometimes. And I think stress is something that we carry throughout our entire lifetime. Yes. And I think when we're younger, now that we have [00:13:00] kids, right? And we've had discussions with this.

, I think when we're kids, our stress levels are much higher. Then they are as we get older and I don't, I don't necessarily mean that you're more stressed out when you're younger. I think you're less able to manage the stress when you're younger than years of dealing with it. I think it's not only managing but also recognizing that you're stressed out.

A lot of kids don't realize that that's what's happening to them. Right. And, instead of focused on the roadway ahead, their mind is thinking about , so many other things that, you know, as, as older individuals that we look at and go, really, that's, that's nothing, , worried about an exam, worried about, , my girlfriend hasn't returned my phone call or, , and you look at those things and you're like, she's probably, Probably eating dinner with her parents.

You know, you're, you're overthinking the situation. [00:14:00] Yeah. So, and these are things that we see a lot. Cause a lot of the people that we train and we see, the biggest errors of, are from younger, younger drivers that we're training. Yeah. They're stressed. Yes. Right. So, , , and , like you said, sometimes your mind is, is dealing those things instead of focusing on the act of driving, having somebody in your vehicle that's, , talking to you, having a conversation with you, , can be a distraction, , a mental distraction of trying to have.

A serious conversation, , like one of those life changing conversations that should probably be done in a different setting, not in the vehicle. We're just trying to pay attention. You're trying to pay attention to the road when people are in the vehicle talking about stuff and getting distracted by whatever it is.

Even if it's not a serious conversation, it's still distracting because. It takes your focus off of the road, right? So that's, that's, , inattentive driving, right? And then we get into what we [00:15:00] call highway hypnosis. Okay. Highway hypnosis is a phrase that we use with that fog, right? That driver fog, you're driving down the road and all of a sudden you kind of snap to present time and we've all done this.

And we have no idea how we got where we are. Yeah, exactly. We're driving down the road and we're like, did we go through that town yet? Or is it still coming up? Did we pass that store or is it at the next intersection? Right. Yes. And it's like. If you're in a vehicle with somebody and they can't remember if they drove through a town or if it's still coming, they really shouldn't be behind the wheel.

I mean, that's a, that's a pretty major thing that, that you've missed, or you didn't miss yet, where your mind is, is somewhere else, right? And usually the reason they [00:16:00] call it a fog, Is because you're on a roadway where there is no stimulation, there's nothing to look at that, or it's something you're very familiar with.

You've traveled that roadway a lot, and I think that happens to people too, is if they're very familiar with it, it's something you do on a daily basis, maybe. You kind of get into a routine complacency. Yes. Right. Or like I said, you're on a long, and this doesn't happen in Alaska. You're on that lonely stretch of road for hundreds of miles.

There's no turns. There's nothing to look at. There's nobody to talk to. New Mexico. Uh, I was thinking Kansas. Yeah. Kansas is one of those areas. And if you're from Kansas and you're listening to this broadcast, we're really sorry. That you live in Kansas. So we've been through many different parts of Kansas.

And, [00:17:00] um, there's some pretty parts. Yeah, I'll agree with you on that. I guess. Um, there are a lot of areas of Kansas though, that there is not much to look at. It is a lot of areas that are very long stretches of road where there is no speed limit changes. There's not much to look at. There's, there's just not much to go on open.

It's very open. Yeah. And there's no stimulation done. So your brain is not working. It's like just in complacency mode. And when something does happen, it takes a long time for your brain to snap into present time, to make a decision on what you need to be doing. , and , the dangerous part of that is even falling asleep.

Yes. Right. That's very true. Right. So we, we covered, , physical distractions, meaning that we have to take at least one hand off the, off the wheel. , we [00:18:00] talked about visual distractions. Those are the distractions that lure our eyes away from the act of driving. And then we talked about, Mental distractions, things that our brain or that we do, our brains thinking about things are not thinking about things, , that take our attention away from the act of driving.

And then the last element. would be a combination of all three of those. Yes. And this is actually one of the more common distractions is the combination of all three of these. , that means we're taking our hands off the wheel. We're having to look at what we're doing and we're having to think about what we're doing.

, And what would you think would be the number one distraction that would involve all three of these? Our phones. There you go. Talking on the cell phone. Or texting. Texting on the cell phone. Which is probably the most common, or texting on the cell phone. Yes. So, , [00:19:00] and actually it's becoming one of the most common distractions in a vehicle.

Isn't it ranking up there with, Other hazards in the vehicle. It is. They say that in five years, that texting and driving could cause more fatalities than drinking and driving. Okay. And, , I always think that's a really sad statistic, , that It is, but with the things we see out there, a lot of times that's what is causing the distraction, so And I just think it's That time in history for us, you know, the cell phone has played a huge part, , in human development and I think in a vehicle, it can be, it can be a tool.

It can, it can be a tool, but it can be. A huge distraction if not managed properly and I, and I see, , I, we see this every single day, which actually kind of leads us into the other element is. [00:20:00] So we say that distracted driving is a conscious choice. It's not an accident. You're not accidentally doing one of these.

In fact, most of us, when we've been distracted. have thought to ourselves, I got to stop doing this because I'm not paying attention to the road. I'm not paying attention to what I need to be doing. So, , like you said, you need to be in the right frame of mind before you get in the vehicle before you do.

this activity because of the consequences, right? So, , but the other part of this is even when you're doing things completely right, there are a lot of other people on the road that aren't. There are a lot of people. Yes. Right. So understanding that other people, Can be distracted. And what are the tools that we have to recognize that we're on the roadway [00:21:00] with a distracted driver?

Oh, you put me on the spot again. I did put you on the spot. Give me some tools. How do I know? That there's a distracted driver how they're driving, right? I can't tell what they're doing in the vehicle I don't know if they're looking at their cell phone. I don't know if they're talking to their kid in the backseat I don't know if they're trying to get their lipstick off the floor You know that they dropped or burnt themselves with coffee or trying to dig the McDonald's french fries I mean, there's a million different things that could be going on I don't know, I can't see what's in the vehicle, but how do I know that one of these things is happening?

Because of how they're driving. Either they're speeding up, slowing down, they're erratic with their speed, or they are all over the road, weaving and wobbling everywhere. Um, Tailgating's another example. , they're, , but yeah, you hit some good ones. , the probably most [00:22:00] common is speeding up and slowing down.

And probably the number one, driving, , or the driving, , error that we see is they can't maintain proper lane alignment. Yeah, lane alignment. Lane alignment's a big one. So they get too far to the right and they drop a wheel off the edge of the roadway. Which can cause a whole bunch of issues. And that's a whole different podcast talking about dropping a wheel or one of the worst things they can do is land up into oncoming traffic because they've overcorrected.

Right. And now we're dealing with a head on collision or, , other mishaps. So, and again, that is like a whole nother podcast, , talking about those things. So. Recognizing when this is happening. , I see a vehicle and I can tell by the way that driver is handling their vehicle on the roadway that they're distracted.

Yes. So, where should we? And that distracted driver could be in front of us, it could be to the side of us, it could be behind [00:23:00] us. So where do we want that distracted driver to be to make us safer? I would say behind us. Really? We want that driver in front of us. Oh, please explain. Because having that driver in front of us now allows us to manage them easier.

Because we could see them. Because I'm naturally looking forward. And I can manage them because that's where I'm naturally looking anyways. If they're behind me, now I'm spending more time managing them. By looking in the mirror and I'm spending less time focused on what we need to be focused on the act of my driving.

Right. Right. But that doesn't mean having a distracted driver in front of you is, is safe as well. , we had a situation we were just talking about earlier today, in which I had a drunk driver that was in front of me. And they were erratically, I mean, we were on a highway where the speed limit was [00:24:00] 55 and I had that driver ranging anywhere from 65 to 25 miles an hour, drastic speed changes, right?

Uh, on a stretch of road where there were no turns. I mean, in Alaska, there's, we can drive hundreds of miles and there's no roads to turn on. And we were in one of those areas, there was no pull offs, there were no roads, there was nowhere that person was going and we were seeing the erratic speed up, you know, , to the point where it was, , excessive to get up to speed and then slamming on the brakes and swerving.

Not just into the ditch, but sometimes all the way into the other lane, not just encroaching on the lane, but having the entire vehicle in oncoming traffic. And , it was so bad that the act was so overwhelming that as I'm witnessing it, I am not focusing on what I need to do. [00:25:00] And I found myself swerving in the roadway.

, not giving him enough space when he was slamming on his brakes, I was having to avoid him. And one of the things I've learned since that incident is that we have rules about following distance, which we're going to talk about in another podcast about keeping proper distance from the vehicle in front of you , and behind you and how to manage those things.

And what I've learned now is that whatever distance you're using to manage between you and the vehicle in front, when that vehicle is a distracted driver. You need to double that distance to ensure their bad driving habits don't become yours. And that's what was happening to me because I didn't know how to manage , and that's a situation that, that, I mean, I've been driving for a long time and that was the only time I have ever seen it that bad.

, I was kind of unprepared to deal with that situation at that time. [00:26:00] I'm, I'm better now because I've been trained since then, but I remember you getting upset at me because I was, you know, driving off the edge of the roadway and I was starting to having a slam on my brakes and it was, you know, it was starting to cause a situation in our vehicle.

Right. And, , And like I said, so even though they're in front of us and that's where we want them to manage them is in front, it doesn't mean that's always good, , I mean, so, , but we definitely want them in front. We want to be able to have them in front of us so that we can manage them. We're not having to struggle to find out what's going on with them.

, so yes, and, , and we need to recognize what we're seeing. Hey, why are they doing that? Oh, because they're distracted, right? And is that distracted, distracted driving tactic or driving distracting error temporary? Like they went off the edge of the roadway, they corrected their vehicle and they went, Oh, put my phone away.

Right now they're okay. [00:27:00] Or is it continuing? Yes. Right. Like, are they dozing off? Are they, like you said, drunk driving or under the influence of something else? Yeah And I always I always go through a little exercise in class where there's a vehicle approaching in our lane And I ask the student why you can't see what's inside that vehicle So what's happening and they'll say, , they're trying to light their cigarette.

They're falling asleep. They're having a medical emergency They're texting on their cell phone. They're playing with the radio. They're adjusting their air conditioner They're talking to a passenger and they just go on and on and on and on and on and on And and what's surprising is that you can There's a bunch of distractions.

Think of that many things. , there's a bunch of distractions that could cause the same error on the roadway. We're not concerned with what's causing it. We're concerning that it is happening anyway. [00:28:00] Exactly. So focus on what's happening, how we need to avoid it, and how we need to be safe. And make a conscious effort, like you said earlier, To prepare yourself to drive.

Yes. Be mentally prepared for whatever trip you're taking. Right. Don't just hop in the vehicle and be complacent. Take a moment to think about what you're doing. Clear your mind and understand the importance of being a safe driver. And I think that is one of the biggest things that's missed in this industry of driving.

And I say it's an industry because some of us get paid to drive, but, , I think it's rare that you find somebody that's not in a vehicle every single day. That's true. Every single day. And understanding the importance of being safe because it is one of the number one killers of people all around the world.

Yes. So, , when we make errors, there are [00:29:00] consequences. They can be deadly or they can, , be costly. Right. Or both. Or both. So, , take a moment to, , think about what you're doing. Clear your mind. Think about what you're doing and then get in the car and go about your day. I think this all wraps into episode one when I said, , sometimes people are worried about driver's education not being cool.

, it's not being cool being dead, being dead, right? So, , our hope is that when we do these podcasts is that we reach at least one person and help change how they think about the act of driving. And sometimes people look at it and go, I drive every day. I don't need someone telling me how to do it.

And the reality of it is you do all of us do. We all do. Yes. All of us are making mistakes out there. And a lot of us are getting away with it. And we think because we're getting away with it, it's because [00:30:00] we're good at what we do. And you're not, I make mistakes. Miss Misty makes mistakes. We said from day one, we're not gurus.

We're not like the, you know, uh, experts of like, Hey, we do it perfect every single day. We're goody little two shoes and you guys should do, , what we say, we make mistakes. Okay. And. , be able to take your ego outta the equation and say, I'm not perfect to take your ego outta the equation and go, I have a lot to learn and I can get better at this every day.

Yes. Yeah. Every day, whether you've been driving for a week or you've been driving for four decades, we all, we all can learn something. And I, I know since , I've been driving, . The techniques of driving have changed a lot. Yes. I mean, I tell kids in class all the time that, , when I learned how to drive, there was [00:31:00] no clicker ticket.

It came out when I was like 18 years old. Yes. And I thought it was the stupidest thing in the world. I was like, man, I hate wearing my seatbelt. People used to put it behind their head, you know, I'll, I'll comply at the law, but I don't like this thing rubbing on my neck. Right. Right. Yes. And, , and now I look at it and I go, we were so stupid.

We are so stupid for not wearing our seat belts. Yes. . , so driving has changed a lot. Airbags, , roundabouts. , just, I mean, and, and we'll get in a lot of these things, you know, over the, over time, but, , driving really has changed a lot. It's evolved. It has evolved. Yes. , you gotta think about, , , we're in, , 2024 right now.

I mean, , the modern age of vehicles, , started around 1950 , with, , vehicles. I mean, I, I know we had vehicles, the turn of the century, , 18, 19 hundreds by the same modern age of the vehicles. I'm talking about the vehicles that are still on the roadway Today, we're seeing [00:32:00] vehicles in the fifties and sixties yes, are still in the roadway.

You rarely see vehicles that are older than that, that are still on the roadways. In fact, I would say. Majority of older vehicles are probably 60s, 1960s. Right. 50s and 60s. Yeah, 70s, right? So, , the modern era of driving, there's been a lot of changes, , since that time period. , and even since the 80s when I was learning how to drive.

So, , when you're listening to these podcasts, try to have an open mind about what we're talking about , , , and like I said, take your ego out of the equation , and. You know, learn, , be willing to get better, , which is safer, right? The whole, name of the podcast is learn to drive better, better, right?

So, , be better as a person, be better as a mentor to your kids. If you have kids, , teach them that you're not always, you don't always have the answers, , reach out there and find other people. So that's what we're trying to do. We're just trying [00:33:00] to, . Change, , driving one driver at a time out there , and, , like I said, I know we're in Alaska and we have a lot of different things that happened in Alaska than happened in the lower 48, but, , hopefully we've been there though.

Oh yeah. Yeah. We've, we've, we do a lot of miles down the lower 48. In fact, this time we did over 10, 000. Yep. And our little trip we'd sort of probably doing 20, 25, 000 a year down the lower 48. And, , probably the same up in Alaska. I think we drive way less in Alaska because we're just driving locally here versus on a, on vacation.

, we're, we're spending a lot of time traveling from state to state to see sites and , and stuff like that. So, , I think that kind of wraps it up. , we'll be getting this out there to you guys. If you have not in the past, listen to one of our podcast, , make sure you go back. , this is episode three of season one.

So go back and listen to episode one and episode two and, and, , maybe just learn, learn a couple of things, , get other people involved, get family members involved, get friends involved, people that you care [00:34:00] about, get them involved in listening to this because, , they may thank you. For allowing them to, , share this with them , , and they, they may learn something that may save themselves one day, , , in the meantime, if you have any questions or suggestions that you want to share with us, have a way for you guys to communicate by contacting us at ADA.

dot mailbag at gmail. com. Yep. Please email us and, , give us a shout out. Let us know what you think of the podcast and, , give us some tips on, or some suggestions, subjects for future podcasts. Things you might be interested in. Yep. Right now we're trying to hit the big ones, , so today was all about distracted driving and, , And like I said, we, we just tried to hit the major things to get you kind of thinking about, , the subject.

, and we'll probably hit it again, , here soon and, and getting a little bit more details about it. But until then, , signing off, this is coach Chris and this is Miss Misty signing [00:35:00] off. All right. You guys have a good one.