Driving needs your full attention. Driver distraction is a serious road safety issue. Essentially, anything that diverts a driver's attention for more than two seconds can significantly increase the likelihood of a crash or near-crash.
Distraction occurs when a driver’s attention is diverted away from concentrating on driving, towards competing events, objects or people.
Driving requires your complete attention. You need to keep control of your vehicle at the same time as maintaining an awareness of your surroundings and potential hazards.
There are many causes of inattention while driving, including:
Watch this video on how to turn on Do Not Disturb for both Apple and Android users.
It’s important to keep your windscreen clear, not just because the law requires you to but for safety reasons. You need to see the road well - not just in your “critical vision area” but also your sideways view of parked cars, pedestrians, cyclists and others.
Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004(external link)
If you use a GPS unit or tablet for directions, these need to be easy for you to see, but must also be placed to ensure your views are not dangerously obstructed. A good guide for this is not to cover any of the inner windscreen area 65mm from the bottom, or 90mm from the top or side of the windscreen:
Windscreen critical vision area – to be measured from the inside of the vehicle from the point where the glass is visible (ie after any seals).
Wrong position – slightly to the left, on the windscreen and obstructing the view.
Correct position – off the windscreen, in the centre of the dashboard.
Legal mobile phone use while driving
Auckland Transport's distraction material(external link)
View our latest driver distraction campaign – “Let Driving Distract You”.
The campaign encourages drivers to put down their mobile phone and create a place of sanctuary from their increasingly hectic and constantly connected life.