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Distracted driving is a major contributor to crashes. In 2020, there were 3,142 lives lost to crashes involving distracted driving (Stewart, 2022). Countermeasures that aim to reduce distracted driving exist, such as laws, enforcement campaigns, outreach, and programs for adult and teen drivers (Venkatraman et al., 2021). However, these typically target the drivers themselves; few […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As distracted driving continues to plague our roads and kill people every day, state laws that are broadly worded to prohibit drivers from holding a cell phone under any circumstance appear to be effective in reducing rear-end crashes, according to a new research paper published today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). IIHS […]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration works to reduce the occurrence of distracted driving and raise awareness of its dangers. This risky behavior poses a danger to vehicle occupants as well as pedestrians and pedalcyclists. Driver distraction is a specific type of driver inattention. Distraction occurs when drivers divert their attention from the driving task […]
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an estimated 3,142 people died in distraction-related crashes in the U.S. in 2020. Another estimated 400,000 people are injured each year in distracted driving crashes. However, the true numbers are likely much higher due to underreporting. The most visible form of driver distraction is the use […]
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and it’s aimed at putting the brakes on a dangerous practice that claims thousands of lives each year. Cellphones, the radio, even food food are all distractions in our cars that can have deadly consequences. Nationally, distracted driving claimed more than 3,000 lives in 2020, […]
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,142 people were killed in 2019 in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in which one or more drivers was reported as distracted (National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 2021). On a recent nationally-representative survey, 37% of respondents reported talking on a handheld cellphone while driving […]
Background: As of January 2020, 18 of 50 US states comprehensively banned almost all handheld cellphone use while driving, 3 states and the District of Columbia banned calling and texting, 27 states banned texting on a handheld cellphone, and 2 states had no general cellphone ban for all drivers. However, it remains unknown whether these […]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines distracted driving as “any activity that diverts attention from driving.” With the proliferation of personal electronic devices and in-vehicle technology in our society, many jurisdictions have enacted or pursued enhancements to distracted driving laws to reduce or eliminate crashes in which the proximate cause is distracted driving […]
When a person reads a text while driving, their eyes are off the road for an average of five seconds. At 55 miles per hour, that is like driving the length of a football field while blindfolded. Distracted driving continues to be an increasing problem. Crashes involving a distracted driver killed 3,142 people in 2019, […]
By now, we all should be aware of the deadly consequences of distracted driving. Yet, driving while distracted by cell phone use has become too common an occurrence on the nation’s roads. This must stop. Click here to read the full blog post.
