“National Do Not Disturb While Driving Day” Highlights Mobile Phone Setting That Saves Lives

The National Distracted Driving Coalition is promoting Oct. 20, 2022, as National Do Not Disturb While Driving Day to highlight the continuing danger of using a cell phone while driving and educate the public about a feature that can help drivers avoid distraction.

“Distracted driving claimed more than 3,100 lives in 2020 according to government statistics, and we know this is likely a dramatic undercount,” said Bruce Landsberg, Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. “Technology is part of the problem but can also be part of the solution. Setting your ‘Do Not Disturb’ function temporarily limits notifications and removes the temptation of checking that distracting device.”

Do Not Disturb While Driving settings are available on both iPhone and Android devices and can be set to automatically engage while driving. Using the phone’s sensors and proximity to known connections to determine if the owner is driving, the feature will temporarily block incoming notifications. Past research has found that only 1 in 5 iPhone users have “Do Not Disturb” set to turn on automatically while driving. That’s likely because many people don’t know that the feature exists, or how it works, and many devices require users to “opt in” rather than choose to turn the setting off.

“Every phone now has this feature. It’s easy to use, and it’s amazingly effective because we’re really bad at resisting the urge to check our devices when we hear a notification,” says Joel Feldman, founder of the Casey Feldman Foundation and EndDD.org. “Maybe you’ve checked an incoming text or email a hundred times without anything happening. But it just takes one glance to end a life.”

Supporters are encouraged to use #NationalDNDWD when posting on social media and to spread the word through all available channels, including blogs, op-eds, press releases and company announcements.

The National Distracted Driving Coalition was formed in March 2021 to address distracted driving which is a contributing factor to road deaths and injuries. This road safety issue is a priority concern shared by many organizations across many sectors. A diverse cross-section of entities, representing academia, non-profits, government, advocacy, and industry, including insurance, transportation, automotive and technology, have come together to create a National Action Plan to tackle this important issue. For more information visit https://usnddc.org/