A 3-minute lesson from the Arkansas course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
You can't drive safely unless driving has your full attention. Any non-driving activity is a potential distraction that raises your crash risk, and texting is the most alarming one.
Distracted driving
Any activity that diverts attention from driving: talking or texting, eating and drinking, talking to passengers, or fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system.
Almost 20% of people killed in distraction-related crashes were outside the vehicle: pedestrians, cyclists and others. Drivers aged 15 to 34 and 75 and older were most often distracted in fatal crashes.
You're 17 and your phone rings while you're driving. Even with a hands-free car system you may not answer; under-18 drivers can't use a phone at all except in an emergency. Let it go to voicemail.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
About how long do your eyes leave the road when you send or read a text?
About 1 second
About 10 seconds
About 5 seconds
About 15 seconds
Answer: About 5 seconds
Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for about five seconds.
