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District of Columbia driving lesson · Safe Driving Fundamentals

Distraction & cell phones

A 3-minute lesson from the District of Columbia course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Safe Driving Fundamentals
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
5, 25, 26

Distracted driving is any activity that could divert your attention from driving. Driving demands constant decisions, so a few seconds looking away is enough to cause a crash.

400,000

People estimated injured each year in crashes involving distracted drivers

Handbook p. 5 ↗
More than 50%

Share of crashes where driver inattention was a contributing factor

Handbook p. 25 ↗
200

Decisions a driver makes for every mile of driving (driving instructors' estimate)

Handbook p. 25 ↗
Football field

Distance traveled at 55 mph if your eyes leave the road for three to four seconds

Handbook p. 25 ↗

Things that take your attention off driving:

  • Eating, drinking beverages, or smoking
  • Changing the radio, CD, or tape; using the navigation system
  • Shaving, putting on make-up, or other grooming
  • Intense, emotional or lengthy conversations on phones or with passengers
  • Reading a map or newspaper, or taking notes
  • Focusing on children or pets, especially rowdy ones
  • Retrieving unsecured cargo or objects
  • Driving an unfamiliar vehicle before adjusting mirrors and seat and finding lights, signals, wipers
  • Using cellular phones or texting
Handbook p. 25 ↗

Know the rule

In DC you must be hands-free while driving with a cellular phone, and texting while driving is never allowed.

Handbook p. 26 ↗

Managing distractions:

  • Secure everyone and everything before the vehicle moves
  • Pre-set climate controls and radio; know where the signals, wipers and lights are
  • Put tempting reading material in the trunk until you arrive
  • Plan your route before you go, and leave a little earlier
  • Postpone complex or emotional conversations until you arrive
  • If a passenger distracts you, pull over where it is safe and legal
  • Don't start driving until the situation is under control
  • When hungry or thirsty, take a break
Handbook p. 26 ↗

Know the rule

Concentration: don't adjust the radio, read, apply makeup, shave, or use a cell phone without a hands-free device while driving. Constantly check vehicles behind, beside and ahead of you.

Handbook p. 26 ↗

Put it into practice

Your phone buzzes with a text at a red light. In DC, texting while driving is never allowed, and calls must be hands-free. Leave it, or pull over somewhere safe and legal to reply.

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.

If you take your eyes off the road for 3 to 4 seconds while going 55 mph, about how far does your vehicle travel?
  1. The length of a city block
  2. Ten car lengths
  3. Half a mile
  4. About the length of a football field

Answer: About the length of a football field

At 55 mph, 3-4 seconds of inattention covers roughly the length of a football field.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
According to the handbook, driver inattention is a contributing factor in what portion of crashes?
  1. More than 50 percent
  2. About 10 percent
  3. About 25 percent
  4. Nearly 100 percent

Answer: More than 50 percent

Research cited in the handbook found driver inattention was a factor in over 50% of crashes.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
About how many decisions does a driver make per mile of driving, according to driving instructors cited in the handbook?
  1. 20
  2. 200
  3. 500
  4. 1,000

Answer: 200

Driving instructors estimate a driver makes about 200 decisions for every mile driven.

Handbook p. 25 ↗
Which of these is listed as a common driving distraction in the handbook?
  1. Checking your mirrors before a lane change
  2. Signaling a turn
  3. Adjusting the navigation system
  4. Braking at a red light

Answer: Adjusting the navigation system

Common distractions listed include eating, texting, grooming, and adjusting navigation or radio controls.

Handbook p. 5 ↗
In DC, how must you use a cell phone while driving?
  1. Only while stopped at red lights
  2. Freely, with no restriction
  3. Only for emergency calls
  4. Hands-free only

Answer: Hands-free only

DC law requires drivers to be hands-free while using a cellular phone.

Handbook p. 26 ↗
Is texting while driving ever allowed in DC?
  1. No, never
  2. Yes, at red lights
  3. Yes, on highways only
  4. Yes, if hands-free

Answer: No, never

The handbook states plainly that texting while driving is never allowed in DC.

Handbook p. 26 ↗
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