Distracted Driving Awareness

According to a recent industry study, 81% of those surveyed admitted to talking on a cell phone while driving, although nearly 50% acknowledged cell phone use as the most dangerous distracted driving behavior. This tells us that while people know it is dangerous to talk on a cell phone while driving, they still do it. In addition, the study showed that 90% of those surveyed believe that distracted driving behavior in general will get worse.

Eighty percent of all crashes involve some sort of distracted driving behavior, as reported by Virginia Tech. The fact that the majority of people in the recent study believe distracted driving is going to get worse means that if our distracted driving behaviors go unattended, and we know that distracted driving causes crashes, it will be inevitable that the number of crashes on our roadways increase.

There are several steps you can take to combat distracted driving:

• Communicate! We have included a couple of key facts and 10 tips to minimize distracted driving. Take a moment to share this information with family, friends and co-workers.
• Sign up your company to be a Distracted Driving Awareness Day (DDAD) partner on April 29th! Last year, nearly 100 businesses and localities throughout Virginia joined in on this effort. There is no cost or expectation in being a partner. You can participate at any level, from lending your support to waging a workplace campaign against distracted driving! Sign on now to insure that your company is included as a partner in all materials and planning!
• Consider a cell phone ban for company drivers. As of July 1 of this year, the Commonwealth of Virginia issued the following policy for all of their state agency fleet drivers: Cell phones, blackberries, smart-phones, or other electrical devices must be operated via a hands-free device. Any other use such as text messaging or emailing is prohibited while the vehicle is in drive.

Join us now as we work to change distracted driving behavior. With your help, we can go far to address this issue and improve the safety of the roadways of Virginia. Visit our website at www.drivesmartva.org for more information on this and other traffic safety programs.

Information provided by DRIVE SMART Virginia.