April is “Distracted Driving Awareness Month” and statistics show distracted drivers injure 500,000 people and kill another 6,000 people each year. On top of that, a recent Governor’s Highway Safety Association report found an increase in teen driver roadway crash fatalities in the first six months of 2011. In an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, ASSE’s Transportation Practice Specialty group has developed a tip sheet discussing crash force, distraction events, distance traveled in seconds and more. The group also gives the following suggestions for safe driving:
· Program your device so you do not answer and notify the caller that you will be driving and are not available to respond at the moment. If someone urgently needs to reach you, devise a procedure such as three rings, hang up, wait two minutes and call again. Repeat once to allow time to pull over safely.
· Know your route in advance and program it ahead of time if using a navigation system.
· Prepare the vehicle and yourself for driving, including your management of any distraction.
· Focus on driving. Maintain safe spacing or move to a less obstructed lane.
Minimizing distractions allows drivers to maximize their attention on the road. For more information on distracted driving, click here. Currently, 35 states, the District of Columbia and Guam ban text messaging for all drivers and many states now ban cell phone use by drivers. The list of states banning in-vehicle cell-phone use is here.