Take A Break From Your Cellphone

“It’s the final day of #DistractedDrivingAwarenessMonth!” the Governors Highway Safety Association posted on its website and Twitter earlier today. “We hope stowing your phone before every drive is now routine, but it’s never too late to create a lifelong safety habit that can protect yourself and your loved ones.”

When a driver reads a text behind the wheel, his or her eyes are off the road for an average of five seconds, the safety association noted. At 55 miles per hour, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field while blindfolded.

On Saturday, the nonprofit representing state highway safety offices, wrote: “Today kicks off the final weekend of #DistractedDrivingAwarenessMonth. Whatever your plans are, make sure you and your loved ones travel safely. Take a break from your phone every time you get behind the wheel.”

And the day before: “Multitasking might be fine at home or work, but never behind the wheel. Focus on the road to help protect yourself, your loved ones and everyone around you.”

Each message was accompanied by an image of an April calendar, with the day of the post circled. Transmissions earlier in the month mentioned how nobody is immune from distraction, how younger drivers and young adult drivers are more likely to be handling a cellphone behind the wheel, which increases the crash risk, and how parents can model good behavior.

The month-long social media campaign is part of the safety group’s advocacy efforts during Distracted Driving Awareness Month, observed every April. All the transmissions had the same underlying message: stow your phone – and focus – every time you get behind the wheel.

The goal is to urge “drivers to take a break from their phone every time they drive during the month,” Jonathan Adkins, the Governors Highway Safety Association’s chief executive, said in a statement, “so they form a lifelong safety habit that can protect not only themselves and their loved ones, but everyone who shares the road with them.”

Distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic on American roads, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 3,522 lives in 2021, and more than 32,000 since 2012.

In 2019, distracted driving crashes cost an estimated $98.2 billion, representing about 29 % of all motor vehicle crashes and crash costs – the largest contributor in the United States.

Road safety experts say the actual numbers may be higher, as many crashes go unreported.

“ Cell phone use — specifically, texting, talking, and social media use — has become the most common distraction,” the federal agency wrote. “Other risky actions include adjusting the radio or GPS, applying makeup, eating and drinking. By driving distracted, you’re robbing yourself of seconds that you may need to avoid a close call or deadly crash.”

Texting, it noted, which includes messaging, is considered the most dangerous type of distracted driving because it combines visual, manual and cognitive distraction. “When we’re behind the wheel, we must focus on one task: safe driving. Anytime you shift your attention from driving, you’re distracted.”

Phone use is now so constant that around half of some 2,000 U.S. drivers surveyed in a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported performing at least one device-based task on most or all drives over the past month.

Most respondents agreed that distracted driving increased their risk of crashing, and that being reminded by a person they care about that they might hurt or kill someone would motivate them to take steps to avoid distraction. However, drivers who regularly interacted with their phones while behind the wheel, the study found, “perceived the threat to be less severe and the barriers to giving up the practice to be greater” researchers said.”

The study found that a multifaceted approach could help end distracted driving. In addition to strengthening laws and enforcement, safety officials should concentrate on leveraging friendships and family ties to make drivers more aware of how serious a threat distraction represents and offer solutions to combat the problem.

“It may come as a surprise,” Aimee Cox, an Insurance Institute research associate and the lead author of the study, said in a statement, “but many drivers still don’t realize how dangerous it is to check a text message or glance at their Instagram feed while they’re zipping along the road.”

For safety tips to tackle distracted driving, click here.