Many moms are attuned to checking homework while you throw together dinner, scheduling doctor's appointments while you work out, and sneaking in a work conference call while you're watching a ballet class. It's not easy to turn off that multi-tasking mentality once we click in our seat belts in the car.
Of course, we know that driving with any distraction, whether it's a boss calling incessantly or a car-sick child in the backseat or our favorite new Bieber song on the radio, is not the safest driving. But the ding of a new text or the drone of the GPS lady giving directions or the coffee sloshing all over the dash doesn't stop just because Oprah said moms should be safer or even because we say we want to be more mindful in the car.
So what exactly is distracting moms while we drive? And, if we're really, really honest, how big of a threat is it to our safety and the well-being of the kids and other passengers riding with us? Yahoo! partnered up with Good Housekeeping to survey moms who were willing to talk about what's happening when we're on the road.
Here's what we learned when from a survey of 252 moms aged 30-55. Two-thirds rate themselves as "very good drivers" and half drive regularly with children under the age of 14 in the car.
Almost all of the moms surveyed rely on their cars to get around, with 89% saying they'd driven in the last month. Far back in second and third place are biking (15%) and riding the bus (11%).
What did these mothers say they always or almost always do while they are driving? A whopping 87% said they listen to music, 60% said they talk to another person in the car, just over half said they change the air conditioning or heat settings and just under half said they adjust the radio station, and 32% said they eat or drink. Interestingly, even after many drivers say they do other activities while driving, "multitasking" comes in at sixth place, with only 31% of the participants copping to it.
Some newer and long-standing stereotypes of what women, and moms in particular, are doing in the car were debunked by this poll. Only 4% said they fix their makeup or hair, 7% admitted they type or send texts and emails, 13% said they were tired, and 21% reported always or almost always refereeing fighting children while driving.
This is where things get complicated. Even though these women listed kids fighting, texting and emailing, exhaustion, and multitasking as low on the list of things that they always do or almost always do while driving, these exact items all top the list of things that are very or somewhat distracting in the car. Kids fighting earned the top spot with 52% of participants complaining it took their focus away from the wheel.
Moms openly acknowledged the activities they said were very distracting and that they still do them while they are operating a vehicle. Still, they seem to be taking more measures to protect their children who drive than to be safer drivers themselves. More than half of those surveyed are parents to teen drivers and, understandably, nearly all checked had major concerns about them being distracted while driving. Topping the list of worries for these moms are that their teens will text (88%), talk on the phone (85%), and email (69%).
Almost every concerned mom (96%) said she took steps to ensure her teen's safety by discussing the risks (88%), not calling the kids while they are driving (65%), and banning cell use in the car altogether (50%). A third reported they felt their efforts with their teens were very successful, 54% admitted they were somewhat successful.
These women also focus their concerns on their own parents and other drivers. Nine out of ten asked said they worry about other drivers talking on cell phones. And of those who have parents who still drive, more than half are concerned about them being distracted on the road.
But what about their own distractions? Fewer than three out of five said they were worried about being distracted themselves.
Here's where it goes from interesting to alarming. The number one way the women surveyed said they could be convinced to limit their driving distractions is by being involved in an accident where an electronic devise was used by one of the drivers (35%). Participants ranked instituting laws against phone usage in a close second (34%), followed by knowing someone who is involved in an accident (31%) or witnessing an accident (29%) that involves electronic devise usage.
Despite confessing they'd have to be startled into being safer, a third of respondents say they do already limit distractions. A small percentage (14%) say they actively do not engage in distracting activities when they are operating a motor vehicle.
How do they try to minimize distractions? Most commonly, these moms silence their phones, put calls on speaker, or use a Bluetooth device.
This survey does not speak to all mothers, but it does voice something fascinating about how some (and maybe many) of us are in the car with our kids. These mothers seem to value safety and take some steps to being safer on the road and to influencing their teens to be better drivers. However, they don't seem to be recognizing how distracted they really are themselves. In fact, it seems that the women polled are FURTHER distracted by worrying about other drivers' distractions rather than focusing on their own vehicular habits.
And you know what? I'm probably one of those moms. I think I am being safe but after reading these stats, I see that I could definitely be safer.
If we were all to get just a little bit more accountable, who else can admit that they could use a safety reality check of their own?
Does this survey represent you?
What are your best tips for shaping up your driving safety and minimizing the distractions of kids, music, the phone, and other people on the road?
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Moms, be honest: What are you doing in the car -- besides driving?
By Jessica Ashley, Senior Editor | Parenting – Mon, Sep 19, 2011 7:46 PM EDT
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