If you’re traveling on Thanksgiving weekend, you likely already have one of the most dangerous road hazards on your mind—fellow drivers who are paying more attention to their smartphones than to what’s on the road.
“Distracted driving” has been getting more attention because the government calculates that it is prevalent and is causing more car crashes. Today, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration published guidelines calling on smartphone makers to create a “Driving Mode” that shuts down app-use while a car is in motion.
The 96-page voluntary guidelines (PDF), intended to reduce “driver distraction,” also call for cars to be more easily “paired” with mobile devices so that drivers can access them through an in-vehicle interface.
