A new study from Australia finds children in a moving vehicle can be 12 times more distracting to a driver than cell phone talking.

Kids left in the car - What's your opinion
Flickr User Andrew Currie
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The Australian study also found parents taking their attention away from the road to deal with their kids for three-and-a-half minutes in a 16-minute drive

"We need to focus on driving," Tracy Noble of Triple-A/Mid-Atlantic said.

Triple-A found babies in a vehicle are eight times more distracting to a driver than adult passengers. Noble has several suggestions.

"You need to, if you have to, pull over to the side of the road, tend to the child. Kids are sometimes soothed by different music in the vehicle or watching videos or playing with video games."

Noble says they are not suggesting for a moment that parents leaves the kids home. They have to be transported to any number of places. It is all part of their life. But minimizing in-vehicle distractions of all kinds will make the drive safer for driver and passengers alike.

Any and all distractions from driving are serious, so don't make me turn this car around.

 

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