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Rhode Island driving lesson · Distraction, Drowsiness & Emotions

Phones, Passengers & Other Distractions

A 4-minute lesson from the Rhode Island 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
4 minutes
Course unit
Distraction, Drowsiness & Emotions
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
18, 19, 20

Most distractions are things you can control before you shift into gear: your phone, your playlist, loose objects, and even how many friends you bring along. Prepare before you drive, and handle what pops up by pulling over.

Know the rule

For teen drivers, adding just one teen passenger doubles the likelihood of a fatal crash. With two or more teen passengers, the risk of a fatal crash jumps by 300 percent.

Handbook p. 18 ↗

Distractions inside the vehicle:

  • Passengers' behavior—especially for young drivers
  • Adjusting the radio or podcast apps
  • Reaching for a moving, loose object
  • Using a wireless communication device
  • Navigating with a map or even an electronic navigation system
  • Eating, drinking, grooming, adjusting climate controls, attending to pets
Handbook p. 18 ↗
400%

Increase in overall collision risk while using a wireless communication device

Handbook p. 18 ↗

Know the rule

Wireless device use is estimated to cause about 3,200 motor vehicle fatalities and 300,000 collisions each year. Talking on one was over four times more likely to cause a near crash than the next-most frequent distraction.

Handbook p. 18 ↗

Know the rule

Hands-free is not safer: research shows no difference in risk between hand-held and hands-free devices.

Handbook p. 18 ↗

Text messaging

Sending short (160 or fewer characters) messages from a phone. It is riskier than talking because you must look at the phone and work the keypad.

Handbook p. 18 ↗

Distractions outside the vehicle:

  • Crash scenes ("accident gawking")
  • Emergency vehicles with flashing lights
  • Billboards, electronic signs that change messages, road debris
  • Construction zones with unusual vehicles or machinery
  • Animals darting onto the roadway
  • Other road users: buggies, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, pedestrians
Handbook p. 19 ↗

Prevent and manage distractions:

  • Learn your vehicle's features before you drive
  • Preset radio stations, playlists and climate control
  • Secure items that could move around
  • Review maps and directions before you drive
  • Pull safely off the road to attend to children or passengers
  • Ask a passenger to help with distracting tasks
  • No texting, internet, video, games or searching music devices while driving
Handbook p. 19 ↗

Know the rule

The first tip is: do not use a wireless communication device while driving.

Handbook p. 19 ↗

If you must use a phone:

  • Use message-taking and return calls when stopped at a safe location
  • Keep calls short and plan them—especially in bad weather or heavy traffic
  • Tell the person you're driving
  • Pull off to a safe spot for emotional conversations
  • Have a passenger place the call and speak for you
  • Secure the phone so it can't become a projectile in a crash
Handbook p. 20 ↗

Put it into practice

You're 17 with three friends in the car and a new playlist to set up. Set the music before you leave, and know that with two or more teen passengers your fatal-crash risk is up 300 percent—keep the group smaller.

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.

How does one additional teen passenger affect a teen driver's risk of a fatal crash?
  1. It has no measurable effect
  2. It increases risk by only 10 percent
  3. It reduces risk by improving driver alertness and focus
  4. It doubles the likelihood of a fatal crash

Answer: It doubles the likelihood of a fatal crash

For teen drivers, adding just one teen passenger doubles the likelihood of a fatal crash.

Handbook p. 18 ↗
With two or more teen passengers in the vehicle, how much does a teen driver's fatal crash risk increase?
  1. By 300 percent
  2. By 50 percent
  3. By 100 percent
  4. By 500 percent

Answer: By 300 percent

With two or more teen passengers, the risk of a fatal crash jumps by 300 percent.

Handbook p. 18 ↗
Research on hands-free versus hand-held wireless devices while driving found what?
  1. Hands-free devices eliminate distraction entirely
  2. Hands-free devices cut the risk roughly in half
  3. No difference in risk between the two modes
  4. Hands-free devices only distract new drivers

Answer: No difference in risk between the two modes

Research indicates no differences in risk between hand-held and hands-free device use; both can fully divert attention.

Handbook p. 18 ↗
Roughly how many motor vehicle fatalities per year are estimated to result from wireless communication device use?
  1. About 300
  2. About 32,000
  3. About 3,200
  4. About 800

Answer: About 3,200

It is estimated that wireless communication device use accounts for approximately 3,200 motor vehicle fatalities each year.

Handbook p. 18 ↗
How much does overall collision risk increase while using a wireless communication device, per the handbook?
  1. By 50 percent
  2. By 100 percent
  3. By 1,000 percent
  4. By 400 percent

Answer: By 400 percent

The overall risk of a collision while using a wireless communication device increases by 400 percent.

Handbook p. 18 ↗
True or False: Distractions can only come from inside the vehicle, never from outside it.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: False

Distractions can come from both inside the vehicle (radio, passengers) and outside it (crash scenes, animals, signs).

Handbook p. 19 ↗
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