FocusDriven – Are you a distracted driver?
More than 500,000 people were injured and nearly 6,000 people were killed last year in motor-vehicle accidents involving a driver who was distracted while using a cell phone or texting device, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported recently.
To cut down on the growing number of injuries and deaths caused by distracted drivers, federal officials and safety advocacy groups have joined forces to get states to ban such activities while driving.
“We are on a rampage about this,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said during a recent press conference. “Distracted driving is a serious, life-threatening epidemic that steals loved ones from us and puts responsible drivers in danger.” Accidents involving cell phone use and texting are “entirely preventable,” he added.
An estimated 100 people die every day in traffic accidents in the United States. Twenty-eight percent of all crashes are caused by the use of cell phone and texting devices each year – an estimated 1.4 million crashes each year caused by drivers using their cell phones and an additional 3% caused by drivers using texting devices.
The federal government has already taken steps to crack down on cell phone calling and texting while driving. LaHood said that President Barack Obama on Dec. 30 issued an executive order banning federal employees from using cell phones and texting devices while behind the wheel. And Congress is considering a bill that would offer states incentives to pass laws against cell phone use while driving, and to punish states without such bans, La Hood said.
LaHood and the Department of Transportation have formed a group called FocusDriven, made up of people who have lost a relative to an accident caused by a driver talking on a cell phone or texting.
“We are molded as a MADD-styled (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) campaign to protect the drivers of our nation’s roadways,” said Jennifer Smith, a FocusDriven board member in Grapevine, TX who lost her mother in a car accident involving a distracted driver.
“Our mission is to prevent injuries and save lives by eliminating cell phone use while driving,” she added.
To read more articles like this sign up for our ezine here:
http://www.valerieandcompany.com/valeries-voice.html
Valerie
