Be Aware of Distracted Driving

The month of April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Because it involves cognitive, manual, and visual distraction, fiddling with your phone while driving is extremely dangerous.  We ask everyone to make a special effort to set the phone aside while driving. We here at Brock-Norton encourage our clients, employees and any/all drivers to put down their phones and buckle up.
 
The CDC has said that there are three types of distracted driving. They are as follows:


1.     Visual distractions that cause you to take your eyes off the road.
                        a.     Examples:
                                                     i.     This can be using a GPS/Waze
                                                   ii.     Looking at billboards/signage
                                                  iii.     Rubbernecking at an accident
                                                 iv.     Checking out the surrounding area or scenery or even looking
                                                           at other cars around you

2.     Manual distractions that cause you to remove one of your hands off of the wheel.
                        a.     Examples:
                                                     i.     Eating
                                                   ii.     Using your phone
                                                  iii.     Changing the radio station or song on your playlist
                                                 iv.     Reaching for something in the car
                                                   v.     Applying Makeup
                                                 vi.     Adjusting the Air Conditioning
 
3.     Cognitive distractions that can take your mind off of driving.
                        a.     Examples:
                                                     i.     Singing
                                                   ii.     Talking
                                                  iii.     Daydreaming
                                                 iv.     Worrying
                                                   v.     Crying
 
Traffic safety researchers say using a smartphone while driving can be extremely dangerous because all three types of distraction – visual, manual, and cognitive – are involved. 

Here are some facts about distracted driving:

• Did you know that cell phone use is one of the most common forms of distracted driving. (NSC)
• Cell phone usage reduces a driver’s attention by 37%. (NSC)
• Using a phone while driving causes 1.6 million crashes every year. (NSC)
• The chances of an accident occurring once a driver’s eyes are taken off the road increase by a staggering 400%. (NSC)
• As of 2024, 48 states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving. (NSC)
• In 2017, 208 people were killed and more than 14,500 were injured in distraction-related traffic crashes in Virginia.  At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving.  Please don’t be one of them.

Also, please buckle-up. It’s your best defense against an impaired, reckless, or distracted driver.

We want you and your family to be safe on the road.   
 
The National Safety Council (NSC) provides some eye-opening data: Distracted Driving | NSC
 
** Sources Include The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Safety Council (NSC)**