TRANSPORTATION MATTERS for IOWA

Message Monday - Texting and driving is not wreckommended


1-9 message mondayAsk just about anybody and they’ll tell you that texting and driving is a bad idea. So, if practically everyone thinks something is dangerous, why do so many people still do it? Research by AT&T found that 98 percent of commuters who own cell phones said they were aware of the hazard of texting and driving, yet almost half of those people admitted to doing the dangerous deed.

So how do you stop? Here are two simple solutions, one takes willpower, the other is more technology put to good use. 

  1. Get your phone out of your reach and leave it there. Seriously consider the trunk. The bluetooth function will still work.
  2. Use one of the many “personal assistant” apps available that can detect when your car is on the move and can respond for you to stop you from manually sending texts.

Here are seven reasons from https://quoted.thezebra.com/132/7-scientific-reasons-we-text-drive/as to why we continue to text and drive.

  1. We think we can multitask.
  2. We think we’re better at this than anyone else.
  3. Actually, we basically think we’re superheroes.
  4. We’re expected to be constantly plugged in.
  5. Plus, we’re not that great at entertaining ourselves anymore.
  6. We’re narcissists.
  7. Our self-esteem feeds on social responses.

The preliminary fatality count for all of 2016 is 402. This number may change as law enforcement investigations are completed. Since Jan. 1, 2017, three people have been killed on Iowa’s roadways.  To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to daily fatality count.

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