2-second rule for distracted drivers

The large rubber strip that I was speeding toward on a Los Angeles freeway looked easy enough to avoid. I swerved, but not enough.

That strip was actually metal and it ripped through my right front tire. I had been looking at my wife for about four seconds before glancing back at the road. Had I just become a victim of distracted driving? The US National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration would probably say yes.


Drivers should never take their eyes off the road for more than two seconds at a time, the agency says. The Auto Alliance, a manufacturers’ trade group, agrees. “The odds of a crash double if your eyes are off the road for more than two seconds,” said Wade Newton, a spokesman.

In 2016, more than 9% of United States traffic deaths — or 3,450 — were linked to distracted driving. With these facts in mind, the government, automakers and tech companies are dreaming up new ways to keep drivers’ eyes on the road, at a time when there are more opportunities for distraction than ever.

One thing that does not work is an appeal to common sense. Asking people to just say no to their gadgets cannot overcome the temptation to check them.

Which is why many states now forbid the use of devices if they need to be held, unless they’re connected through the vehicle’s built-in screen or can be operated with voice commands. But even that may not be enough. “Laws against distracted driving do not reduce crashes,” said Jessica Cicchino, a vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Instead, they have come up with a set of voluntary design guidelines to limit distractions and make driving safer. Under these guidelines, makers are encouraged to design screens that do not obstruct the driver’s field of view, use internationally recognized icons and symbols, allow the driver to control the pace of input, and disable information not pertinent to driving when in motion.

Given that they’re suggestions, their use varies. Volkswagens lock out navigation input using the touch screen when the vehicle is in motion, while some Audis don’t.

Rather than try to stop distracted driving behavior, manufacturers are offering technological solutions to hopefully lessen the distractions.

They include features like head-up displays, which project speed and other information onto the windshield in front of the driver; and audio alerts when the vehicle drifts into another lane without signaling. Others include blind-spot detection and automatic braking when about to hit a vehicle or pedestrian.

Distractions like eating or grooming have a long history for drivers, and now smartphones are adding to them. “There is evidence to suggest that distracted driving is getting worse,” said Charlie Klauer, lead for the teen risk and injury prevention group at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

Cicchino of the Insurance Institute said, “Distraction caused by electronic devices is replacing that caused by eating, drinking and talking to passengers while driving.”