5 Ways to Break the Habit of Texting and Driving

Posted on 06. Aug, 2010 by marklink in blog

We asked the question: Is technology making us safer? Of course this question brings up many responses and stirs emotions. Up until July 1, 2010 people in Georgia could insist that texting and driving, although unsafe, held no additional penalty for committing the act. After Georgia’s ban on texting and driving, this is no longer the case. Although the ban may be difficult for police to enforce, they will find a way. As a texting lawyer we are keeping a close eye on legal precedence in this matter as it will determine additional liability if a person is found to be negligent and texting while driving. In an effort to help people break the habit we have come up with this “5 ways to break the habit of texting while driving”. We created this specifically for Georgia drivers, however, anyone can benefit from it.

1. Turn off your phone before you get into the car? Seems a simple enough way to prevent you from phone distractions, but it is also simple to forget. One idea is to set your alarm for recurring times you know you will be driving in the car. For example, when you get off work. If your schedule is predictable then you can set predictable alarms.

2. Use technology to assist you with turning your phone off. How? A new cell phone application is on the market that automatically turns off your phone while driving. Proprietery technology of the application uses your phones GPS tracking feature to determine if you are moving. Called Turn Off The Cell Phone, it seems a logical enough technology tool to counter the technology that created it. However, it isn’t available for all phones and isn’t a guarantee it will prevent you from using the phone while driving. After all many people find workable solutions around other safety devices.

3. Use a sticky note. This is a low tech solution for this problem, but a simple one. You can leave a reminder on the dash of your car, where you will see it. Hopefully it will be enough to remind you to turn your cell phone off. Low tech, cheap and helpful.

4. Sign up to receive textingaccident.com blogs via e-mail. Sure this is a blatant form of self promotion, but seriously, our blog posts e-mailed to you can serve to remind you of the consequences of texting while driving.

5. Read this story of Caleb Sorohan to remind you of the dangers of texting while driving.

The family of a 2009 Morgan County High School graduate who died in a car crash while texting is pushing legislators to prohibit drivers from typing or reading text messages when on the road. Caleb Sorohan, 18, was killed Dec. 15 when he crashed head-on into a Toyota Sequoia not far from his Rutledge home while texting on his cell phone.

Here are some resources we found helpful to guide you with forming better habits, such as not texting while driving.

7 Ways to break a habit

How to Break Bad Habits and Develop Good Habits

20 Tricks to Nuke a Bad Habit at Zen Habits

Tags: break texting habit, texting accident, texting attorney