Prevent Distracted Driving with Bluetooth Technology

Not only is it considered safer to avoid holding a cell phone to your ear while driving, it’s also against the law in a growing number of places:

In the U.S., 12 states now have blanket bans on driving using a handheld cell phone, while 37 states have bans for novice drivers. Text messaging while driving is now illegal in 42 states, and five others ban it for novices.

In Canada, all 10 provinces and three territories have distracted driving laws in place for both handheld calling and texting. A first-offense can get you a fine as high as $280.

The good news is that there are no bans on using hands-free devices to stay in touch with friends, family and the office when you’re on the road.

Most smartphones do come with a hands-free intercom mode — and some offer voice control features as well – but all of them require you to at least press one small button and it can be a challenge to hear those small speakers in traffic.

The safest option is to install Bluetooth connectivity into your vehicle for completely hands-free driving safety, and we have options for every need and budget. This lets you hear the phone through your own speakers, and to speak – or dictate text messages – into a dedicated microphone.

After the system is set up, your car will recognize your phone every time you get into your vehicle.

That’s just for making calls and sending and receiving texts; a wide range of other hands-free options are available for voice-controlled navigation, music, video and more. Drop by the store to learn more about going hands-free and driving safely!

Some facts about distracted driving:

• Distracted driving is blamed for over 3,000 deaths and 420,000 injuries a year in the U.S.
• The U.S. Government’s distracted driving website, www.distraction.gov, includes texting, talking on cell phones, eating, talking to passengers, grooming, reading (including maps), using navigation systems, watching videos, and controlling music as examples of distracted driving.
• Taking your eyes off the road to use a phone – reaching for a phone, dialing a number, sending a text – makes it three times more likely that you will have an accident.
• Sending a text while driving takes your eyes off the road for roughly 4.6 seconds, which is the equivalent of driving the entire length of a football field blind at 55 mph!
• Some 25% of teens respond to at least one text message once or more every time they drive. 20% of teens and 10% of parents admit to having multi-message text conversations while driving.