Travel Tips & Trends

Distracted parents behind the wheel

Every parent knows that kids demand a lot of time and attention. But when driving, the goal is getting from place to place safely. The chance of getting into a crash is almost doubled if the driver lets his or her attention stray from the road for just two seconds—and turning around to deal with a child can take much longer than that.

For their own good, there are times when children should not be seen or heard. Here are some tips for parents behind the wheel.

Pull over to feed infants or check diapers, even if it means putting up with a couple of minutes of crying before you get to a safe place.
Keep children in their car seats at all times. Handling children is much too distracting for drivers and it endangers small children who might be unprotected in a crash.
Make sure the kids have their books, toys and games at hand and ready to go before you turn the ignition key.
Don't get in a shouting match. Intense emotional discussions are huge distractions to drivers. If Junior throws a tantrum, wait until you've stopped the car to deal with it.
Travel with another adult, if at all possible, and leave the parenting to the passenger so the driver can focus on the road. Sometimes the tag team approach works best.
Assign tasks to older children. Having an older child in the car who can grab toys for younger kids is a great way to cut down on distractions, while keeping at least one child occupied.