If you’re reading this while driving, please stop.

People do some crazy things in traffic. Ask anyone who’s commuted to Atlanta regularly, and the things they’ve seen in morning traffic — people doing make up, brushing their hair, eating breakfast, reading the paper, driving with one foot hanging out the window — will make even the most multitasking-capable of us worry.

Watching where you’re going sounds like simple advice, but it proves more complicated than many can manage. Distracted driving is the reason almost 3,200 people were killed and another 431,000 people were injured in 2014, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Distracted driving includes texting and using a smartphone while driving — by far the most common culprit of automobile crashes — but also eating while driving, messing with an electronic navigation system, adjusting a radio or trying to get your kids’ DVD player to play “Finding Nemo” for the 6 billionth time.

Text messaging and using social media — Facebook, Twitter and the like — are among the most distressing sources of distraction because they require engaging in a visual medium. That is, you can’t do them while also looking at the road. And a lot can happen in the distance that you can travel while you’re looking at your phone for even a few brief seconds. If you’re traveling at 55 miles per hour and you look away from the road for five seconds, your vehicle has traveled the length of a football field with its driver effectively driving blind.

The NHTSA estimates that, at any given daylight moment in the United States, there are about 660,000 drivers using cell phones or otherwise manipulating electronic devices while driving.

The rate at which smartphone ownership has grown isn’t helping the problem. According to State Farm, 52 percent of drivers reported owning a smartphone in 2011. By 2014, that number grew to 80 percent. And while the largest age group of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes — some 10 percent — were between the ages of 15 to 19, the fastest segment of drivers acquiring smartphones are those age 40 and older.

Now that we have more drivers with more distractions, what are we to do about it? Well…

• Go Hands-free. Many newer cars come with Bluetooth connectivity options that allow you to sync your smartphone with your car’s stereo. That will allow you to take a phone call and even listen to a text message without taking your eyes off the road. If your car doesn’t have that option, there are lots of aftermarket Bluetooth accessories that offer this same capability. You can ask the salesperson to help sync the device to your phone if you’re not sure how.
• Turn It Off. This is an option that can make a lot of people’s skin crawl, especially since we’ve become so reliant on our mobile devices. Really, though, you can turn the phone off until you reach your destination. Or, at least mute the volume so you can’t hear an incoming call or text. That way, you can check your phone when you arrive safely at your destination. Some phones can even be programed to automatically send a text message to anyone trying to reach you to tell them that you’re driving and can’t speak right now.
• Stay Focused. Look around at the red light and find the drivers who are staring at their laps. On the road, watch for the car having trouble maintaining its lane or keeping a steady speed. Odds are, these are the drivers who are distracted and who you need to avoid. Do you want them barreling up behind you at the next light?
• Obey the Law. Texting while driving is actually illegal in Georgia and several other states. If someone starts giving you grief because you didn’t promptly return their message, there’s your reasoning. Maybe you saw a light bar on a Dodge Charger behind you.
• Just Wait. Doing 60 in a 55 is no place to have a heart-to-heart with your significant other, a fight with your mother or try to manage a job interview. If the call is going to be stressful, even if you have a hands-free option, just wait or pull off the road.

Remember, you owe it to yourself, your passengers and the other drivers on the road to operate your vehicle as safely as possible. You don’t think it’ll happen to you — until it does.

Learn more about emergency care at Tanner Health System and the Tanner ReadER program, which provides age-appropriate books to every child who visits one of Tanner’s three regional, 24-hour emergency departments.