Safe Driver Articles & Resources

Bracketron is committed to the principles that safety is paramount and a driver's highest priority must be safe control of their vehicle at all times.
We support state legislation imposing limits on the use of in-vehicle electronics to ensure driver safety.

To that end, we have developed a line of innovative products that, when used appropriately, promote smart driving habits by giving users a safe,
convenient location to mount their device so they can keep their focus on the road.

Stats/Facts

• Seven in ten (69.6%) licensed drivers, when asked to compare the safety effects of holding a phone versus talking on a hands-free device, said the hands-free option was somewhat or much safer (Table 10). (2013 Traffic Safety Culture Index AAA)
• Only a third (36.3%) reported finding hands-free device use by drivers unacceptable (somewhat or completely), and only one in five (21.1%) perceived social disapproval of this behavior from others in their community (2013 Traffic Safety Culture Index AAA)
• Consistent with these attitudes, there is less general support from the public for laws and regulations that would restrict the use of hands-free technologies, as opposed to hand-held ones, behind the wheel. For example, whereas seven in ten licensed drivers (69.4%) support a law banning hand-held phone use by all drivers, more than half (53%) oppose a law that would universally ban all types of cell phones (including hands-free) (Tables 13 and 14). Essentially the same percentage (52.8%) also opposes having the federal government regulate non-driving-related technologies in vehicles to ensure they don’t distract drivers. (2013 Traffic Safety Culture Index AAA)

https://www.aaafoundation.org/2013-traffic-safety-culture-index

• The Virginia Tech distracted-driving study showed talking on a phone to slightly increase chances of a crash, but didn't make any distinction between Bluetooth headsets and in-car kits, and saved the alarming statistics for dialing a phone, texting, and emailing.
• “But slapping down a ban on all conversations just goes too far. It's unenforceable, impractical, and even seems to contradict itself. Rather than stamping out all phone use, the NTSB and the industry should work to make texting and e-mailing on the road impossible.” (PCMag)
• About 99% of 2012 vehicles had standard or optional Bluetooth connectivity for phones and cars, and most of those — and many navigation systems — have voice controls, says car-buying siteEdmunds.
• The Highway Loss Data Institute's research indicates that car collision rates didn't change after cell phone bans went into effect--and they didn't change for nearby states without such bans, either.
• Using a cellphone while driving may be distracting, but it does not lead to higher crash risk in the setting we examined," Carnegie Mellon social and decision sciences Professor Saurabh Bhargava said. (Carnegie Mellon University cell phone study)

http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2013/august/aug8_drivingcellphonestudy.html

• When researchers installed cameras in the cars of 12 families over a three-week period, they found talking on the phone only accounted for one percent of distractions. Distractions from children, meanwhile, accounted for 12 percent of all distractions. (Monash University Accident Research Center Study)

http://www.monash.edu.au/miri/research/research-areas/transport-safety/\