April is distracted driving awareness month, a subject that is near and dear to us. We keep telling walkers, runners and bikers to make themselves visible with reflectors to help drivers see them in the dark, but drivers also need to be focused on what’s on and along the road!
It’s estimated that 5,000 deaths a year or 16% of all fatal crashes involves distractions mainly from cellphones (texting/talking/downloading music) or passengers. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has put faces to the numbers. See here what distracted driving looks like inside some cars. Hold on:
(Sorry, youtube video is no longer available)
To make the roads safer, the obvious thing to do is to start with yourself – put away the phone while driving, pull off to the side of the road if your kids are not cooperating or ask your passenger to save those difficult questions for later. Don’t forget to be a role model for your kids! If you have teen drivers, put the rules in writing and discuss the consequences for not following safety rules.
It’s more difficult to protect yourself against distracted drivers in other cars, but generally it is a good idea to leave them as much maneuvering space as possible. If you walk, run or bike, make sure to wear colorful clothes at daytime and reflectors and lights from when dusk starts to fall. The longer distance the driver can see you, the higher the chance that they actually will notice you. 500 feet with reflectors instead of 100 without makes a difference (also with attentive drivers)!
The funflector team