Before you decide to reach for that cellphone while zooming along Interstate 75, perhaps you’d better know the new Florida laws. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that will allow law enforcement officers to pull over drivers who are texting and driving, making the action a primary offense. The new law goes into effect today, July 1.
It’s estimated that 55,000 accidents were caused by texting while driving in 2016. Tragically, this resulted in 216 reported deaths.
Florida car accident victims may be covered by personal injury protection, but no compensation can completely eliminate the pain and suffering caused by an accident. Prevention is always best — and most Florida car crashes can be avoided.
In a follow up to our article on driving without distractions, here are five ways to keep your focus on the road, and not on your mobile device while driving:
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Try putting your phone in your glove compartment or even in the back seat. By putting your phone in a tough-to-reach spot, you will be forced to pull over or wait until you arrive at your destination to tend to your messages or missed calls.
Do Not Disturb
If you have an iPhone, enable Do Not Disturb mode before getting behind the wheel. With Do Not Disturb, you can silence calls, alerts, and notifications that you get while your device is locked. You can also schedule a time or choose who you’ll allow calls from. When Do Not Disturb is on, you’ll see a 
in the status bar. There are two ways to turn Do Not Disturb on or off:
Go to Settings > Do Not Disturb. Choose Manual to turn on Do Not Disturb now or set a schedule.
Inform Your Friends & Family
It’s that easy! Your friends and family love you and would never want anything to happen to you. By communicating that you’re driving and that you won’t be checking your phone, you’ll feel less anxious that someone is looking for you.
Try Leaving It At Home
The next time you’re going for a quick trip to the gas station or supermarket, try leaving your phone at home. If you know that you will not be gone for long, let your family/friends know that you’ll be right back. While it’s unrealistic to leave your phone at home every time you leave the house, doing so every once in a while will encourage better driving habits and less distracted driving.
And if you really can’t be separated from it, practice turning the phone off before you get in the car. This way, you’ll still have it on you if you have an emergency.
Hand your phone to a passenger
To avoid temptation, put your co-pilot in charge of your phone (whether it’s your kid or simply another passenger). After all, if your kid is busy racking up a high score on a game, easy access to your phone will probably not be likely.
Conclusion
The reason so many use their phone while driving is because they’re distracted by the anxiousness that they’re needed, or that they need to find something out. Additionally, we typically make it easy to reach for the device or return that text when it comes in. Taking steps to deter these things will curtail the habit of reaching for the device while driving, and may save your life or the life of someone else.
