The Kansas Highway Patrol has seen an
increase in distracted driving over the past couple of years. There are several
things people do while driving that cause distractions - cell phones, car stereos, GPS devices,
passengers, and pets are a few examples. One of the biggest distractions has
been cell phones. People use their cell
phones for talking, texting, GPS and other activities while driving.
I have witnessed firsthand the devastation
and trauma texting while driving can cause.
A couple years ago, I was dispatched to a two-vehicle
crash. At the crash scene, the driver of the vehicle northbound was killed and
the driver of the vehicle southbound was killed. The passenger in the
southbound vehicle was wearing a seat belt and was treated and released from a
local hospital. During the
investigation, it was determined that the driver of the northbound vehicle
crossed the center line. I found a cell phone in the northbound vehicle. The
cell phone showed the driver was sending and receiving text messages at the
time of the crash.
As an instructor for defensive driving
courses we always tell people “There isn’t any text message worth it.”
Distracted driving is any activity a
person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the
primary task of driving. The experts say there are 3 categories: visual -
taking your eyes off the road; manual - taking your hands off the wheel;
and cognitive - taking your mind off what you are doing.
The
length of a football field
Statistics show that five seconds is the
average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph,
that's enough time to cover the length of a football field. Would you put a
blindfold on while driving 55mph down the highway?! And a texting driver is 23
times more likely to get into an accident than a non-texting driver.
Here are some tips for managing common
distractions.
sTurn your phone
off or put it on silent.
sPull over to
talk or text. And remember, texting while driving is against the law in Kansas.
sUse passengers.
Let them make the calls or text messages.
sSecure your
pets. Pets on your lap while driving is a big distraction.
sKeep kids safe.
Pull over to address situations with your children.
sFocus on
driving. Refrain from smoking, eating, drinking, reading and any activity that
take your mind and eyes off the road.
No one intends to get into a car, get
into a collision and hurt somebody, but they will voluntarily engage in activities
that do increase the crash risk.
Bottom
line
- if you get a phone call, text message, or need to do any other task that
would take your attention away from driving, pull over.
Rick
Wingate is a Technical Trooper with the Kansas Highway Patrol in Chanute
Trooper Wingate provides some great tips to live by! Driving down the road unaware of what is going on along the road is just not a good way of life. You’re increasing your odds of not living a full life or worse by affecting someone else’s live negatively. We are role models for the youth and if we don’t take the driving task seriously then they will lean the same. We need to change the social norm to make texting, phone calls and other distractions an inappropriate activity while driving. Unfortunately, we have a long ways to go.
ReplyDeletemaybe this should be sent to some of the local law enforcement centers. It's terrible to know that some of the Sherrif and City Police Officers, etc are the WORST at texting and driving, etc. They preech it at school kids etc but yet they do it themselves. I know plenty of them that do it, I used to get text from officers while on duty all the time, did ride alongs and they would text while driving, ITS NOT JUST CITIZENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteTo keep your pets safe and to prevent them from being a distraction to you while driving, purchase a car harness. It will keep the animal secure in the event of an accident and will prevent them from distracting you as you drive down the road. I purchased mine at Sam's Club. Here is an example of a car safety harness from the ASPCA: http://www.aspcaonlinestore.com/products/101352-car-harness
ReplyDelete