Driving With Kids In The Car Is More Distracting Than Using A Cell Phone, No One Is Surprised
New research claims that driving with kids in the car is 12 times more distracting than driving while using a cell phone. Is anyone surprised by this?
The Daily Mail reports:
Over a 16-minute car ride, drivers with kids in the car looked away from the road for an average of 3 minutes and 22 seconds – 21% of the time.
According to Australian researchers AAA that means kids are twelve times more distracting while driving than talking on a cell phone.
They also found that younger children are a greater distraction with the average baby eight times more distracting than an adult passenger.
I’m about to give birth. With my first child, We lived in New York and didn’t have a car. All my days were spent travelling with the newborn in a Baby Bjorn or in his stroller. There was never a time when I couldn’t see his little face. I don’t know how everyone else fares with a newborn, but I am in the camp of, if I turn away for one second this child will probably die. Exactly how long can I not look at my infant and be assured that he is still breathing? Yes, I am a little paranoid. I’m hoping the paranoia will be better with the second child, but I won’t know until she gets here.
The thought of having her in a car seat in the backseat, facing backwards, is seriously freaking me out. I’m also freaked out that my toddler will be sitting right next to her, probably trying to shove Legos in her mouth. How in the world do parents drive with young children in the car without being totally distracted? What am I supposed to do here?
I already spend way too much time glancing in my rear view mirror to make sure my toddler hasn’t choked on a goldfish cracker. I can’t believe I’m adding another source of distraction to this equation. I will officially never judge someone for answering the phone when they drive again. Actually – scratch that. Talking on the phone while driving is stupid and irresponsible. I guess so is driving with kids – but I don’t see getting around that.
(photo: Oleg Mikhaylov/ Shutterstock)
