The dangers of using your phone while you drive
How to legally use your phone hands-free
Final word
The dangers of using your phone while you drive
In 2020, over three thousand people died in America because of distracted driving. Not every one of those accidents was because of cell phone use but many were. Using your cell phone while you drive is outrageously dangerous to you, anyone else in your vehicle and every other driver on the road around you. It is very senseless and selfish to use your cell phone while you drive in Alaska or anywhere else in the world.
Research has shown that when you intermittently take your eyes on and off the road to read or write a text as you drive, your reaction time will double. This means it will take you twice as long to react to things like someone stopping short in front of you. If you find that you can barely react in time when someone stops short when you have full focus on the road, you are not alone. Imagine if your reaction time doubles. You would have no chance at avoiding getting into an accident. That example only accounts for those who are checking the road occasionally as they text, not those who flat out ignore the road when they text. In that case reacting to something like a car stopping in front of you becomes completely impossible.
How to legally use your phone hands-free
The good news is that you can safely and legally use your cell phone hands-free as you drive in Alaska. Doing so is not too complicated at all either. In order to safely and legally use your cell phone hands-free in Alaska, you have two options. First, you can get a good quality cell-phone mount and enable voice commands, such as voice dialing and speaker phone.
You can also choose to pair your phone to a hands-free device such as a Bluetooth. Some newer cars may even allow you to pair your cell phone to the speaker system. All of this only applies to calls and not texting. In the case of texting, you might be able to pair your phone with a device that can read texts and take dictation from your voice to automatically type responses. However, this is not that reliable and can easily distract your focus even though you are not averting your eyes from the road. Your best bet for using your phone while you drive will be to pull over and do so.
Final word
You should never take your eyes off of the road while you drive to use your phone for any reason. You also should never have your phone in your hand as you drive. If you are driving and you absolutely must use your phone, your best bet will always be to pull over in a safe place and do so there. You also have the options of getting a cell-phone mount or pairing your phone with a hands-free device in order to take calls while you drive only. Do not try to text using those options unless you can have your texts read aloud and typed through voice dictation by the device. Even then, never text while driving – it is just not worth the risk.
