Expert offer tips on how to limit districted driving this holiday weekend

Yahoo

22-05-2025

As millions of Americans hit the road for Memorial Day trips, auto safety experts are urging drivers to find ways to limit distractions and predicting that more automakers and auto insurers will turn to artificial intelligence to help.
"Humans are actually pretty good drivers," Stefan Heck, the CEO of Sunnyvale, California-based Nauto, which sells AI safety devices, said this week in an interview with the Free Press. "But if you can help them address the one or two items they don't do well yet, you can make them awesome drivers."
By one count, distracted driving causes about 3,000 fatalities a year, and 80% of auto collisions involve some sort of distraction ‒ many from phones.
But Heck, a former Stanford University professor, suggested that distracting driving collisions may be grossly underreported and likely account for more crashes than what the government counts, based on data he has reviewed.
Limiting distractions, he said, would prevent injuries, save lives and reduce insurance claims.
Of course, Heck also has a financial reason to promote efforts to reduce distracted driving.
Nauto, the privately held company Heck heads, aims to fill the gap between those who have limited collision-alert devices in their vehicles already and a future in which entirely autonomous vehicles can drive themselves.
The venture provides collision-alert devices that attach to the windshield of business vehicles in automobile fleets throughout North America. It hopes to offer the same service as early as next year to consumers, mostly through insurance carriers.
In the meantime, for the estimated 45 million drivers getting behind the wheel this weekend, he offered a few common-sense, but often ignored, tips on how to limit distractions.
The biggest one: Put your phone, which tends to create unnecessary distractions, in a phone mount so you are driving hands-free. Putting your phone in a holder puts the device somewhat out of reach and urges you to use voice commands.
Smartphones — which an estimated 91% of Americans own — amount to a TV, computer, gaming, and global positioning system in the palm of your hand, which, for drivers, can be dangerous.
More: Cell phone 'Do Not Disturb' feature could help cut distracted driving, study finds
Mobile devices also are a challenge because while they offer drivers features that they want and need, such as digital music and GPS navigation, they also don't connect to cars all that safely and tend to create distractions.
It's a conundrum that phone and car manufacturers are working on, but have not solved.
More: Michigan gas prices up 12 cents a gallon from last week as Memorial Day travel nears
Besides, using a mobile phone while driving is prohibited in Michigan, unless it's through a hands-free program or device, like Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, or on a phone mount, but, in many cases, that hasn't been enough to get people to do it.
Some of his other suggestions:
Set up your music playlists before you start your drive.
Use the voice command, rather than touchscreen, features.
And be aware of, and develop, safe driving habits.
That last one may sound like common sense, and, actually, they all are.
But Heck pointed out that awareness helps cut down on crash risks and the greater number of risky behaviors drivers engage in at the same time, the more likely they will end up getting hurt.
And if you are going to do something risky — like speeding, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, talking on your phone, listening to loud music — don't do more than one thing at a time.
Each additional thing, Heck said, exponentially increases the likelihood of a crash.
And, interestingly enough, you can use your phone to help you do that.
A study from AAA found that 'smartphones themselves — a common form of distraction — may hold the key to curbing" risky use and "contribute to better focus on the road and enhance overall traffic safety."
The 79-page report, by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, found that when it comes to drivers, it boils down to this: the smartphone's "Do Not Disturb" feature works, but despite its promise, it isn't widely used.
Many just aren't familiar with it, and others fear the "Do Not Disturb" feature would limit their phone and car's navigation and music functions, and some were worried that if they did turn it on, they'd miss an important call or message.
"But increasingly," Heck said, "you'll see this kind of AI — we're working with a number of manufacturers already to build it in future vehicles, so it does come with your car — and you'll see more and more of this capability."
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Expert offer tips on how to limit districted driving this holiday weekend