Healthy Living
What is distracted driving? Anything that takes your attention away from the task of driving safely is distracted driving. You cannot drive safely unless driving has your full attention. Any non-driving activity you engage in has the potential of being a distraction and increases your risk of crashing.
Texting and Driving. Cell phones are a great invention that makes it easy to stay connected. However, we need to stay disconnected while driving. The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. One out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving. Answering a text while driving takes your attention away from the road for about five seconds. If you are traveling at 55 miles per hour, that’s enough time to travel the length of a football field! Don’t let a text be the last thing you do. Put away your cell phone while driving. Your life is worth it.
Alcohol and Other Drugs. About one in four teen car crashes involves an underage drinking driver. Every day about 800 people are injured in drunk-driving crashes. Marijuana use is increasing, and 13 percent of weekend nighttime drivers have marijuana in their system. Marijuana users were about 25 percent more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers with no evidence of marijuana use. The most effective way to stop impaired driving is to prevent it from happening in the first place. It’s always a good time to talk to your kids about the dangers of impaired driving by reinforcing expectations. Let them know it’s never okay to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle while under the influence. Some kids may not know what to do if a friend or family member who is under the influence of alcohol or other drugs offers them a ride. Explain that it’s okay to say no, and help think through an exit strategy.
Passengers and Other Distractions. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, passengers are one of the most reported causes of distractions. With young children being four times as distracting as adults and infants being eight times more distracting, you need to train yourself to be considerate of everyone’s safety. Eating, reading, watching a video, or even adjusting the radio can all be very dangerous distractions while driving. When we divide our attention, we put everyone’s life in danger.
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