April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Nearly half of all drivers feel less safe on the road than they did five years ago because of distracted driving.
The Quiz: Do You Know the Correct Facts?
One of these facts is incorrect. Can you spot it?
- Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.
- Drivers spend more than half their time focused on things other than driving.
- 20% of drivers age 18-20 said texting does not affect their driving, and nearly 30% of drivers ages 21-34 said texting has no impact.
- Federal estimates suggest that distraction contributes to 5,000 fatal accidents a year.
- Voice to text offers a significant safety advantage over manual texting.
Scroll down to see the correct answer.
What Can Parents Do?
The Great Multitasking Lie
Provided by The National Safety Council
The incorrect fact is #5. Voice-to-text offers no safety advantage over manual texting, says a study conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
Employer Resources:
White Paper: Understanding the distracted brain: why driving using hands-free cell phones is risky behavior
Case Study: Employer Ban Cell Phone Policy
The Free Cell Phone Policy Kit
Sources:
Distracted Driving from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
National Safety Council: Distracted Driving Research
NHTSA: Distracted Driving
