Distracted Driving
Don't Drive Distracted. Eyes Forward. and Put the Phone Away or Pay are the themes for Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Traffic Safety Marketing provides campaign materials to spread the message about the dangers of distracted driving. How big is the problem? According to the NDOT Highway Safety Office, there were a total of 3,924 crashes attributed to distracted driving. Of those, 19 people were killed, 1,282 people were injured and 2,629 were property damage only.
Distracted driving is the act of driving while engaged in any task that takes your focus off the road – texting, talking on the phone, watching videos, reading, even passengers can be a distraction. Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for approximately 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that is like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.
Signs of distracted driving
- Nearly striking an object, vehicle or pedestrian
- Failure to safely maintain lane control
- Driving into opposing lane, crossing center line
- Slow response to traffic signals
Managing Driver Distraction
- Park the phone. Turn on notification before you go or stow it away.
- Pull over it you need to take or make a call. Safety first.
- Passengers can be of help, ask your passenger to change the radio station, monitor GPS, look for street signs.
- Before you go, research you destination and plan ahead to get there safely.
- Secure your pets, unsecured pets can be a distraction.
- Pull over to a safe place to address situations involving children in the car.
- Focus on driving, multi-tasking behind the wheel is dangerous – keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.
