Controlling an iPod While You Are on the Road

If there is one dangerous topic in this blog, this is it. Playing around with an iPod while you are driving is not a good idea. It is very easy to get focused on the iPod instead of where you are going, and your day can suddenly be ruined, even an aztec ruins would look better than your car. To practice safe iPodding while you are on the road, consider the following tips:

• Choose the music to which you are going to listen while you are stopped. The iPod’s screen is just not large enough to be able to see it clearly and look around you at the same time. Choosing music is at least a one-hand and two-eye operation. That doesn’t leave much left for driving. So fire up your iPod, connect it to the radio with a cassette adapter or configure the FM transmitter, choose your music source and play it, place your iPod in its holder, and then drive.
• Consider creating playlists for driving. You can make these long enough so that you never have to change the music that is playing while you drive.
• If you must fiddle with your music while you drive, at least use a remote control. You can’t change the music source with these devices, but you can change the volume, skip to the next song, and so on.
• Remember that you don’t need to change the volume on the iPod itself. Set it at a mid-level and leave it alone. Use your car radio’s controls instead.
• Keep your iPod secure, as explained in the previous section. Nothing is more distracting than the thought of your precious iPod flying around the car as you drive. If that does happen, remember that fixing you and your car (plus other people) will cost a lot more than a new iPod would!
• Remember the road rule of the day: Road first, music last.