April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, so today’s Advisor provides you with valuable resources and statistics to help you train your employees about the dangers of distracted driving.
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According to a press release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this year’s theme is “U Drive. U Text. U Pay.” And during the National Distracted Driving Enforcement Campaign earlier in April, state and local law enforcement aggressively ticketed drivers who were texting or using their mobile devices when behind the wheel.
Furthermore, the National Safety Council is using the month to promote its campaign “Calls kill—Hands-free is not risk-free,” which warns that anything that takes a motorist’s focus off of driving is a potential danger.
The website handsfreeinfo.com reports that many state and local agencies are using Distracted Driving Awareness Month as an opportunity to hold distracted driving sweeps to warn or ticket drivers who violate laws against use of electronic devices while on the road.
“Distracted driving kills, there is no excuse for it, and it must stop,” said federal Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx at a NHTSA kick-off event. “Across the country, we’re putting distracted drivers on notice … Texting and driving will at least cost you the price of a ticket, but it could very well cost you your life or someone else’s.”
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Don’t assume that your employees “get it” when it comes to the risk in distracted driving. Help protect them from themselves by sharing these startling facts with them. According to the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety:
- In 2012, 3,328 people were killed and more than 420,000 were injured in crashes involving distracted driving.
- Crashes involving a distracted driver cost about $46 billion per year.
- Using a cell phone is more likely to lead to a crash or near crash than other forms of distraction, primarily because they are used so often and so much.
- Drivers using cell phones look at, but fail to see, up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment.
- At any given time, about 9 percent of drivers are visibly speaking into a handheld or hands-free mobile device.
- Using a cell phone while driving significantly delays driver reaction time.
- There is no significant difference between the cognitive distractions involved when using a hands-free versus a handheld device.
- About a quarter of drivers in a 2013 survey reported sending a text message or e-mail while driving at least once in the past 30 days. Nearly three-quarters said they had read a text or e-mail.
- Sending a text message takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average of 5 seconds. That’s like driving the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour with your eyes closed.
- Texting and keying into electronic devices while driving is illegal for all drivers in 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Texting is also prohibited by many cities and counties. Many states, counties, and municipalities also ban the use of handheld phones while driving.
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In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll provide 10 tips to help you train your employees to stop distracted driving.