Using your cellphone while driving. We’re all guilty of it. Some worse than others. Whether it’s texting or sending a Snapchat of you singing along to your favorite song, the bottom line is that it’s dangerous. The statistics show that 330,000 accidents caused by texting lead to serious injury. It’s hard to break the habit of looking at your phone when a notification pops up. iOS 11 is finally here to help you break the bad habit. Apple added the Do Not Disturb While Driving feature as an extension of Do Not Disturb. When Do Not Disturb is turned on, calls and alerts will be silenced. I use this feature every night before I go to bed because sleep is precious to me.
There are three different options to turn on Do Not Disturb While Driving: automatically, when connected to Car Bluetooth, or manually. The automatically option will turn on when your iPhone detects motion. iOS 11 is able to know when your phone is connected to in-car Bluetooth. Newer car models come standard with Bluetooth, which is used to take phone calls or listen to music from your phone. Manual mode can be activated from the Control Center, but who is going to remember to turn that option on every time you are behind the wheel.
When Do Not Disturb While Driving is enabled, you’ll see a popup that informs you that you will not receive notifications while driving. To unlock your device, you’ll have to tap the “I’m Not Driving” button. You might think this feature is useless because it’s so easy to bypass and use your phone. The primary purpose of the Do Not Disturb popup is to be a visual reminder to think twice before using your phone while driving.
How to Enable Do Not Disturb While Driving
- Tap the Settings Icon
- Tap Do Not Disturb (crescent moon icon)
- Scroll to Do Not Disturb While Driving and tap Activate.
- Pick between manual, automatically, or when connected to Car Bluetooth.
You can customize an auto-reply that will send a generated text anytime the Do Not Disturb feature is on. You can choose to auto-reply to no-one, recents, favorites, or all contacts. You can also create your own user-generated text to let others know you’re in Do Not Disturb mode.
This is a simple feature, but useful feature. Our lives are so immersed in technology that it’s to fall into the trap of constantly checking your notifications. It only takes a small distraction to smash into the back of a car who suddenly stopped. Please stay safe on the roads and drive distraction-free!