The Next Stop: METRO's Podcast Episode 48: Distracted Driving Can Have the Same Deadly Consequences as Drinking and Driving Speaker1: The driver admitted to looking down at the GPS, and when she did, the car veered on into the path of oncoming traffic. Doug Delony: I’m Doug Delony. On this edition of the Next Stop: Stay alert and stay safe! Even a distraction of just a couple of seconds can have deadly consequences. [Introduction music plays] Doug Delony: I’d like to welcome Joshua Zuber, from AAA, to the Next Stop. Welcome, Joshua! Joshua Zuber: Thank you for having me, Doug. Doug Delony: Today, we are talking about distractions, mostly while driving, but this advice can even apply to people who are walking, biking, or using METRO. Bottom line: Everyone should be aware of their surroundings. It’s kind of nice to have a conversation with AAA, and it’s not about gas prices, right?! [laughs] Joshua Zuber: Yes, that’s certainly been top of the mind for a lot of folks. Doug Delony: I know. Joshua Zuber: And you know, we’ll continue to see that, unfortunately. But yeah, certainly AAA big into traffic safety. So glad we’re here talking about that and specifically distracted driving. Doug Delony: We always hear people, you know, maybe our friends, our neighbors, we hear the commercials, the PSAs on television: Don’t text and drive. That’s the warning we hear all the time. Yet why do people continue to do this? [laughs] Joshua Zuber: You know, and that’s a good question. You know, AAA has done a lot of research on this topic, and one of the tools that AAA has is the AAA Traffic Safety Culture Index. And when we drill down into the topic of distracted driving, there seems to be a “Do as I say, not as I do” type of attitude for a number of drivers that AAA has surveyed. According to the AAA Traffic Safety Culture Index, a majority of drivers view typing, reading, and talking on a handheld cell phone while driving to be very or extremely dangerous. However, around 40 percent of those drivers report having driven while talking on a handheld cell phone at least once in the past month. You know, fewer respondents but still quite a number engaging in distracted driving by reading and typing a text or email on a handheld cell phone while driving. So, certainly, there has been some progress in the Traffic Safety Culture Index findings when it comes to dangerous driving behavior, you know, of drivers that AAA surveys. But certainly, a lot more work needs to be done. Doug Delony: And I’ve seen some people reference it as “intexticated.” You’re “intexticated.” Trying to equalize it to, you know, the same consequences as drinking and driving. Joshua Zuber: Mm-hmm. And that’s exactly correct. The campaign is, “Don’t drive intoxicated. Don’t drive intexticated.” Our goal there is to help audiences understand that the consequences of using a smartphone while driving can be the same as drinking and driving. Doug Delony: And really, we just want people to be safer behind the wheel in general. I know METRO, we’ve taken the Vision Zero Pledge. Harris County has taken it. City of Houston has taken it. And basically, that’s the acceptance that no loss of life by traffic crashes or incidents is acceptable. So, no loss of life by traffic crash is acceptable. And there are things that we can do every single day to prevent people from dying in our roadways and being critically hurt, and some of that, of course, is up to transportation planners within our city, our county, and of course, within METRO. And we’re looking at, you know, safer intersections, safer sidewalks, safer bus pads, and bus shelters. But also, a lot of it is up to the driver, and sometimes the pedestrian, or someone in a wheelchair or scooter or a bicycle. That everyone follows the rules, plays it safe, stays alert, drives the speed limit, and certainly is not distracted. You know, sometimes I’ve seen cyclists actually [laughs] using their phone and cycling at the same time, and that certainly is not recommended. The temptation is just so great because when we talk about texting and driving, we’re not just talking about texting, of course, you know, with the distracted driving, it could be someone eating food, maybe they’re using, you know, the radio function on their phone and they’re trying to tune into some, you know, at one of the internet streaming music services. What would you say are some tips to try and keep people focused? Even though they’ve got that temptation right there. I mean, put the phone in the glove box, or what do people do? Joshua Zuber: Yeah, I think you had a really good one right there is, you know, out of sight, out of mind, right? So, you know, put the cell phone away, you know, when you’re driving. And again, whether it be, you know, while in your vehicle, as you had mentioned bicyclists also same thing. Need to be focused on the road or the trail ahead of them. You know, one of the things that is a major distraction can be your navigation system as far as, you know, programming it. Doug Delony: Mm-hmm. Joshua Zuber: So, AAA recommends that if you’re going to use a navigation system, know before you go. Program your destination before driving. You know, pull over, you know, to a safe spot off, you know, of the road, preferably, you know, a parking lot or something like that, you know, if you must text or call and you’re on the road. So, that’s really important to keep in mind is just taking the time that, “Hey, I’ve got an important call. I’ve got a really important text or email that I need to deal with. Let’s go ahead and pull off of the road again to a safe place to do that.” Ask your passengers for help. You know, so if you see, you know, that, you know, you’re a passenger, or you know, same ____ (0:05:47) in a different way, that you’re a driver. You know, if you’re riding with someone, seek their help, you know, to help to navigate or make a call or send a message. Same thing with passengers, maybe passengers, the other way around, be like, “Hey….” If you do, of course, see your driver is using their phone, ask them to not drive distracted and see if you can help them out. Of course, you don’t want to be a distraction, so you know, maybe if you know that the person you want to call or text is driving, try to avoid, you know, doing that. And then also as a driver, there’s, you know, technology is going to be possibly a really big help in getting us out of this unfortunate pattern and trend of deaths and injuries on roads from distracted driving. So, put that phone in “Do Not Disturb” mode. Doug Delony: Right. And I know sometimes the technology, the stuff they come up with can be helpful but also, like, I know myself. So, if my phone is in Do Not Disturb mode, and on my particular phone, I can set it to do that automatically. It determines when I’m in a vehicle, and, of course, if it’s connected to my vehicle’s Bluetooth, it knows. So, my phone automatically silences notifications unless, of course, I’m using navigation or something like that. But even then, I have to have it out of sight because I’m going to be tempted to look over and say, “Well, did someone message me? Did someone message me?” And look over and try and see the screen if that’s a possibility. I know every single device is a little bit different. And then, of course, some people get in that phone call on the Bluetooth, and even though your eyes on the road, you’re mind is not there. So, you have to be aware that if you’re not one of those people that can multitask, maybe even an intense phone conversation is best saved for the side of the road or a parking lot. I was looking at your website and looking at some of the stats. Distracted driving kills an average of 9 people and injures over a thousand every single day in America. So, that’s a hard number to look at, but let’s put this in a personal perspective. Joshua Zuber: Yeah, recently, AAA Texas and the Houston Police, we put together a Distracted Driving Documentary. One of the stories is of Dr. Toron Woolridge, and he’s a Houston area educator, and he’s been advocating for awareness about distracted driving and stronger laws. And Dr. Wooldridge, unfortunately, lost his two sisters, Jade and Brianna, to a distracted driving crash back in 2016. Both teens, along with some friends, were returning from spring break, and the driver, one of the sister’s friends, admitted to looking down at the GPS, and when she did, the car veered into the path of oncoming traffic and hit head-on a semi-truck. Really devastating to see that obviously happen. The pictures are very, very, very powerful, and all of that, you know, reportedly because of the driver looking at the GPS. So, two lives lost. So, you know, and there’s three other families in this documentary that you can check out at aaa.com/dontdrivedistracted. Doug Delony: And I certainly would, you know, recommend parents, if you have a teenager who is just getting behind the wheel of the car, these are the kinds of things that they might roll their eye and say, “Oh, this is lame.” But these are important stories because, like I said, we can look at stats all day, but these personal stories, real names, and certainly local stories, you know, with tragic consequences. It’s one of those things people think, “Oh, this couldn’t happen to me. I’m good at multitasking.” But I know that even at a red light, at a stop light, if you’re texting or you’re distracted, you can still have an incident where you don’t realize something’s right in front of your vehicle. Or in a parking lot. You just still have to stay aware, you know, of something small that might be in front of your car as well. Joshua Zuber: To that point, when you talk about being at a stop light or a stop sign, research has found that interacting with technology when you’re behind the wheel, you actually have what AAA has dubbed “The Hangover Effect.” Doug Delony: Mm-hmm. Joshua Zuber: So, actually, your mind can be distracted for up to 27 seconds after using technology while behind the wheel. So, while you may think that you’re paying attention, that your mind is engaged, your mind actually may be blinded, so to speak, and hungover by the previous interaction with technology, and that could, of course, cause the crash, which could result in again injuries or possibly even death. Doug Delony: Yeah, and that kind of goes back to what I was saying if you’re in a real deep conversation as well. Your eyes don’t have to be on the device. Joshua Zuber: Mm-hmm. Doug Delony: Your mind is elsewhere. That’s a problem. That your life depends on it, someone else’s life depends on it. That’s why I say, “Hey, you know what? METRO is here. We’ve got buses. We’ve got METRORapid. We’ve got the rail.” Of course, we want you to stay alert of your surroundings at all times while you’re on public transit. But if you’re on the bus… Joshua Zuber: Mm-hmm. Doug Delony: You need to use your phone, you can safely do that because you’re not operating the bus. I wanted to go back to Vision Zero real quick as we wrap this conversation up. And I want to remind people that on Harris County’s website and other websites, you can take this Vision Zero Pledge. And if you want to take it, if you have a child that wants to take it, that’s getting into driving. The pledge, and I’m going to expand on it, I know I mentioned a little bit of this earlier, but the pledge is you will stop for pedestrians, respect the speed limit, not text and drive, be safe behind the wheel, bike safely, slow down, drive safely for our children, spread the word about Vision Zero. So, again, you can take that pledge on Harris County’s website. Joshua Zuber: And then also AAA has a pledge that folks can take as well to not drive intexticated. And you can also share that on social media using the #dontdriveintexticated. Doug Delony: I think that about covers it. Now that we’ve talked about all of that, when will we see $2 gas again? No, I’m kidding. [laughs] Joshua Zuber: [laughs] Right. Doug Delony: I want the date. I want the year. And I don’t know, it may never happen again, right? We’ll…[laughs] Joshua Zuber: Who knows? I mean… Doug Delony: …have to wait and see on that one. [laughs] Joshua Zuber: You know, that is a great question. And it is interesting right now. Doug Delony: Thanks again, Joshua. Joshua Zuber: Thank you so much, Doug. Doug Delony: As a reminder, if you see something, say something. Don’t forget you can download the MPD Connect app to connect to Metro Police, and in an emergency, dial 9-1-1. Between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, you can also reach out to Metro’s customer service, call or text 713-635-4000 if you need assistance. That wraps it up for this edition of the Next Stop. Thank you to you, the listener, and all of our METRO riders out there. I’m Doug Delony. If you’d like to check out more episodes and subscribe, you can find all the links you need on ridemetro.org. As always, drive less and do more with Houston METRO. [Music plays to end] RMETRO/pti:kh Page 1 of 1