Powerful pundit Oprah Winfrey is loaning her voice and persuasion to the important campaign against distracted driving, which includes talking on the phone, sending text messages, toying with car controls and consuming food or drinks. On January 18th, 2010, Oprah dedicated a segment of her popular talk show to expressing outrage about what she calls ‘America’s New Deadly Obsession.’ This episode was inspired by the fact that although recent studies have shown that distracted driving is very deadly, most of the population admits to frequently engaging in secondary tasks while driving.
With up to 6,000 preventable deaths caused by distracted driving in 2008, it’s time to finally take action against driver irresponsibility. You can pledge to make your vehicle a No Phone Zone and shut off or put away your phone while driving to contribute to a nationwide effort to save lives. You can also test what you know about distracted driving and learn even more at Oprah.com.
Here are some real facts about the dangers of distracted driving:
• Distracted driving is responsible for contributing to 80% of all auto accidents
• It is the primary factor for at least 18% of car crashes each year
• 16% of car accident fatalities were directly linked to distracted driving
• At any given moment, 812,000 drivers are operating vehicles while using a phone
• Talking on a cell phone is more dangerous and distracting than live conversations
• Texting is equivalent to the effect of consuming four alcoholic beverages
• Drivers under 20 years of age are more likely to be involved in these vehicle accidents
• The number of young drivers using handheld devices are increasing annually
• Drivers using handheld devices are four times as likely to get into crashes
• Using a cell phone while driving reduces driving-related brain activity by 37%
Figures are cited from Distraction.gov, where you can also find information about the federal ban on texting for commercial truck drivers, initiated by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in January 2010. LaHood is also responsible for initiating FocusDriven, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending distracted driving in the United States.
Hopefully such national legislation will encourage individual states to enact similar life-saving laws. In Florida, there are currently no laws in place which limit or restrict driving while using a cell phone. In fact, this state has laws in place to prohibit regional jurisdictions from enacting similar laws. But you can do your part discourage distracted driving in South Florida by becoming a fan of the Gross & Telisman Don’t Text and Drive campaign on Facebook. This will let all of your friends know that you don’t support texting and driving, and help spread important information. You can also learn more about how to prevent distracted driving accidents.
Tags: auto accidents, car accident fatalities, car crashes, dangers of distracted driving, distracted driving, distracted driving accidents, Vehicle Accidents
illinois dui attorney…
Looks like you have a strong background on this. Thanks for your insight on this area….