Hands Free Safety Tips for Avoiding an Auto Accident

Distracted driving has become one of the leading causes of car collision within the past couple of decades. Maintaining a hands free method while driving is one way to avoid auto accidents. The use of cellphones is the main culprit behind these accidents, since drivers are constantly texting or calling while on the road. An auto accident attorney in Orlando have a few safety tips that will help you avoid these accidents and remain hands free. Contact Payer Law today is you have been in an auto accident in Orlando, Florida.

Focus on Driving

If you are on the road, it is your due diligence to make sure that your attention is on your driving. You need to be aware of the other drivers around you, the road conditions, the weather conditions, among other factors. Trying to multitask on the road is a huge hazard that typically results in car collisions or accidents.

Here are a few activities that you should not indulge in while driving:

1. Eat
2. Drink
3. Talk on the phone
4. Text
5. Change the radio station
6. Fight with other passengers
7. Search for fallen or misplaced items
8. Put on makeup

Practice Hands Free

By focusing on driving, you are already practicing safe driving tactics. Keeping your hands on the wheel at all times is not only the law, but it will ensure that you have full control of your vehicle at all times. Any auto accident attorney in Orlando can tell you that the use of cell phones is such a major factor in the cause of car accidents. One way you can ensure you are not using your device while on the road is to set up certain settings. Your cell phone should have the options to mute all notifications while you are on the road. This Do Not Disturb feature is crucial in maintain focus on the road.

Here is how you can turn on these settings:

1. Go to Settings > Control Center, then tap Customize Controls.
2. Tap + next to Do Not Disturb While Driving.

On an iPhone X or later, you can swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen and tap  to turn the feature on or off. Or on an iPhone 8 or earlier, you can swipe up from the bottom of your screen and tap  to turn the feature on or off.

According to Apple, this feature will ensure:

1. Your iphone stays silent and your screen stays dark. If someone sends you a message, they receive an automatic reply letting them know that you’re driving. If the message is important, the sender can type the word “urgent” to make sure that you receive a notification. Then you can pull over to read their important message or ask Siri to read it to you.
2. Phone calls are delivered using the same conditions as standard Do Not Disturb: You can allow calls only from your Favorites, and you can allow calls to come through if the same person calls twice in a row. If your iPhone connects to your car via Bluetooth, calls will come through as usual, and you can use the buttons, microphones, and speakers in your car to take your call.
3. If you use Maps to navigate, your iPhone still shows lock-screen navigation help and gives turn-by-turn instructions.
4. If you’re a passenger and you try to use your iPhone while the feature is active, you must tap I’m Not Driving to turn it off.

Here are a few other ways you can stay safe on the road:

1. Make a Driving Plan (know where you are going)
2. Drive defensively (be aware of other drivers)
3. Drive safely (do not swerve or cut off other drivers)

What to do if you are involved in an accident:

Call an auto accident attorney in Orlando to report the problem. At Payer Law Firm, we tell our clients the appropriate steps to take directly after an accident. You don’t want to miss these steps. Call us immediately after your accident.