You text a friend. You reach for your purse. You look down to grab your coffee. You reach around to calm your baby or break up an argument between your children. You are talking on your cell.
These are all forms of distracted driving. According to the US Department of Transportation 3,328 were killed and approximately 421,000 were injured by distracted drivers in the US in 2012. And these are not perfect statistics as many drivers are reluctant to admit they were texting or in some other way distracted prior to an accident, or in the case of a fatality there may not be a witness or evidence available, or even the way an accident is officially reported/coded may not call out a distraction. Most studies actually believe the numbers could be much higher.
What can you do?
- Take a moment to think before you react.
- Pull over to answer the phone, make a call or text.
- Don’t drive if you are too tired or pre-occupied.
- Stop if you need to assist a child.
- Don’t eat or drink while driving.
- Read the paper before you get in your car.
- Put your laptop/tablet in the trunk so as not to be tempted.
The above are just a few things you can do to protect yourself and those around you. Don’t become one of those counted in the statistics. For more information on distracted driving go to www.nsc.org or talk to your insurance agent.
See our video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDtRvuYuPv4
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