Don’t Drive Distracted!

While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that motor vehicle fatalities have gone down in recent years because newer cars have better safety features and more drivers and passengers are using seat belts—the number of traffic deaths caused by distracted driving from the increased use of electronic gadgets has gone up!

What is distracted driving? It is any nondriving activity that takes the driver’s attention from the primary task of operating the vehicle and thus increases the risk of crashing. There are three main types of distraction:

1. Visual—taking your eyes off the road
2. Manual—taking your hands off the wheel
3. Cognitive—taking your mind off your driving

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Remind your employees of these common activities that can distract a driver:

• Using a cell phone
• Eating, drinking, or grooming
• Talking to passengers
• Reading, including map reading
• Using a PDA or GPS
• Watching a DVD
• Changing the radio station, CD, or MP3 player
• Texting

Note:  Using a cell phone while driving delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. And talking with another passenger can also be distracting, however a passenger may warn the driver if there is suddenly a dangerous situation on the road.

Give employees practical tips on how to focus on their driving. Advise them to avoid distracted driving by following these safety practices:

• Make only emergency cell phone calls while actually driving.
• Have a hands-free phone and speed dialing when you have to make an emergency call while on the road.
• For texting or a routine cell phone call, pull over to the shoulder.

Visit the NETS website at http://trafficsafety.org/drivesafelyworkweek for daily campaign activities and other information on Drive Safely Work Week.

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Why It Matters

• The NHTSA estimates that more than half a million people are injured, and nearly 6,000 die annually in crashes involving a distracted driver. Most dangerous of all is texting because it involves all three types of distraction—visual, manual, and cognitive.
• Drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting.
• At 55 miles per hour, this means that the driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road.
• Drivers who text are more than 20 times more likely to get into an accident than nondistracted drivers.

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