On March 24, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution designating the month of April as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The resolution encouraged all Americans to consider the lives of others on the road and put an end to distracted driving.
Distracted driving covers a number of actions, from texting, using a hand-held cellphone, eating, fiddling with the radio or CD player to putting on make-up or even shaving. These and many other things people do while driving take a drivers attention away from the main purpose of being behind the wheel of an automobile, and that is "driving."
The numbers tell the story
According to distraction.gov, more than nine people are killed, and 1,060 more are injured every day in crashes that involve a distracted driver. Recent surveys also show drivers who use mobile devices are four times more likely to get into injurious crashes, yet more than one third of drivers admit to texting and driving.
A survey released on Saturday, April 6, 2013 by the U.S. Department of Transportation, "National Highway Transportation Safety Administration" (NHTSA) Found that while most people realize the dangers involved in using electronic hand-held devises while driving, the majority of them still do it anyway.
Sadly, the survey went on to point out that with the 660,000 drivers using cellphones or manipulating other hand-held devises while driving, their numbers were the same or in some cases slightly higher than the numbers recorded in 2010. This speaks very loudly, telling us that the public is not heeding the warnings about distracted driving.
Over 74 percent of the drivers surveyed agreed that there should be a ban on hand-held devises being used while driving. Over 94 percent believed texting should be outlawed. Most of these same drivers were also in favor of fines for these offenses, according to the report.
Wireless provider, AT&T also conducted a survey last month, asking drivers if they understood the dangers of texting while driving. A whooping 98 percent of those surveyed said they understood the dangers. The survey also showed that 43 percent of teenage drivers said they texted anyway, and 49 percent of older drivers said they did the same.
Is it really worth it?
NHTSA administrator, David Strickland had this to say about distracted driving,
"Many drivers see distracted driving as risky when other people do it, but do not recognize how their own driving deteriorates."
Strickland went on, urging all drivers to use some common sense, and to focus on the task of driving. He pointed out the need for further innovations in electronic communications. We are seeing the advent of voice-activated systems and in-ear Bluetooth technology, as well as other wireless systems.
Further improvements will eventually lead to electronic devises that could be available to everyone, and even be part of a vehicles basic package at sale. Until that time comes, keep in mind that waiting until the car is stopped is not such a bad thing to do. You might be saving a life, your own.
Comments