Texting and Driving Safely Using an iPhone

Texting and Driving Safely Using an iPhoneMost states in the United States of America ban text messaging while at the wheel, whilst a select few restrict the law to individuals that are 21 years or younger and driving. Many even ban cell phones in general, or hand-held devices. On an international level, more and more countries are doing the same with respect to their legislation. We too think that texting while driving is extremely dangerous and that your attention should be focused on the road. Thus we’ve compiled a number of tricks that can help you with texting and driving in a safe way, by using voice commands and Siri.

Please consult your local jurisdiction before using Siri in your car to avoid litigation. While using Siri with a hands-free system should be ok, it is never a mistake to double-check what is allowed in your locality.

Using voice commands for texting and driving with Siri

Instead of having to look at the display, we can use voice commands to interact with Siri, your iPhone’s virtual assistant. Reading and writing as well as replying to texts while on the road is best done through this method. It will ensure that your eyes stay on the road and you are aware of your surroundings at any given time.

Having Siri read a text to you

Activate Siri by pressing and holding the Home Button, pressing the corresponding button in your car / on your wheel, or by using the “Hey Siri” hotword when using one of the newer devices such as the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Then give Siri the following command:

Read me my messages

message from contact

You can also use Siri to check for new notifications in iOS, not just messages:

Read me my notifications

This command will have Siri read out all kinds of updates in overview form, but she will ask whether you’d like her to continue and go into more detail.

you have notifications

Hint: If you’d like to know more about text-to-speech on your iPhone and how to have it read out any given text content, check out our article on how to enable offline dictation on your iPhone.

Having Siri write a text message for you

Perhaps you’d like to send a quick reply to any of your contacts, this is actually doable while driving and doesn’t require you to type on the iOS keyboard. Instead, have Siri compose the message for you! The corresponding command goes like this:

Send a text to [contact]

or

Send [message content] to [contact]

writing a text using Siri

You can e.g. say “Siri, send ‘I’ll be there soon’ to my wife!” or use one of the above templates and simply fill in the blanks. The commands don’t have to be exact, Siri understands numerous ways of doing the same thing. Before your message is sent, Siri will present you with a preview for confirmation.

In summary, using Siri and hands-free technology is a great way to avoid accidents and costly fees for “distracted driving” or “texting and driving”. Stay safe!