There are multitudes of distractions, which we encounter when we travel the streets of northeastern Pennsylvania by motor vehicle. Some of these distractions occur outside the vehicle, which are out of our control. However, many distractions originate from inside the vehicle and involve children. As a result, it is a seemingly never-ending challenge for parents to prevent their children from distracting them while driving, even though such distractions are within their control.

It’s one thing to turn off a cell phone while driving but you cannot turn off your children. Children talk, move, and direct your attention elsewhere while you drive. In research conducted by the AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety, more than seventy percent of parents turned around to look at children in the back seat during a 16-minute drive. This resulted in an average of 3 minutes and 22 seconds when the parent’s attention was not on the road ahead. This research also found that children were 12 times more distracting than cell phones and4 times more distracting than adults.

Here are some recommended tips for preventing children from distracting you while driving:

  • Secure your child in a safety seat appropriate for a child of that particular age and weight.
  • Allow extra time to reach a destination. Assume delays for anything and everything, while planning accordingly.
  • If driving a long distance, bring another adult to care for the children so that you as the driver may continue to focus on the road without interruption.
  • Be prepared. Have available easy to open snacks that are not messy or high-maintenance. Have some toy or object that will distract the child from distracting you!
  • If the child is using a laptop, tablet or DVD player, make sure the child knows how to operate it so he or she isn’t constantly interrupting you for help.
  • If your child needs immediate attention because he or she is crying, screaming, or ill, pull off the road and do not try to handle the problem by constantly turning around while remaining behind the wheel and driving.
  • Take frequent rest stops, especially to break the monotony for your young passengers.