Quickie: How Distracted Driving Can Cause Bumps in Your Relationship
Pay attention to the road…and your partner
Just as talking on a cell phone while driving can cause accidents, it can also create a bump in the road of our relationships. Paul Rosenblatt, professor at the University of Minnesota, says that the reasons for these problems stem from the same causes: the slow reaction time and distractions that arise when we use a phone while driving.
For example, when you’re having an important phone conversation with your partner while driving, a slow reaction to what you’ve heard may lead to misunderstandings in the relationship.
“Problems arising from a difficult phone conversation may push their relationship to the tipping point.”
“A delay in the conversation could be a problem if the person (spouse or partner) on the other end of the conversation interprets the delayed reaction as an indicator of ambivalence, of not having a ready answer or of hiding something,” said Rosenblatt. “This all leads to upsetting the partner.”
If you’re talking to someone on the phone while they are driving, similar conflict can arise because you can’t see the other person’s nonverbal cues, so the meaning of what they…
