Guilford police stepping up distracted driving enforcement through April 30

Last year, 13,994 crashes in OH, including 26 fatal crashes, were linked to distraction, according to a release from State Highway Patrol Fremont Post. Listen to your passengers; if they catch you texting while driving and tell you to put your phone away, put it down. The goal is to gain voluntary compliance by drivers, but sometimes citations are necessary for motorists to better understand the importance of driving distraction free. “When those notifications go off on your phone, you feel compelled to pick it up”, Greenfield said. “But you can’t be safe and do both at once”.

The California Highway Patrol joined with the Bakersfield Police Department to talk to students at Mira Monte High School about the dangers of texting, eating, applying makeup, using a Global Positioning System, even playing music while driving.

During 2016, distracted driving crashes accounted for more than 3,500 serious bodily injuries and 233 fatalities – and distracted driving crashes in the state have increased 26 percent since 2013, the agency reports.

Drivers can be ticketed for writing, sending, or reading a text or electronic message while driving. Get that your yacht rock or summer jams playlist ready before you hit the road.

The California Highway Patrol, the Office of Traffic Safety, and Impact Teen Drivers are also working to spot distracted driving.

These distractions include using a phone, looking around, or simply taking your mind off driving.

So put the phone down while driving. “Before you drive. It can wait.”.

The average respond time while texting can take up to 5 seconds, which is enough time to drive the length of a football field.

She wants drivers to know using a cell phone behind the wheel can be deadly. Model responsible behavior by not using your phone while in the auto.

The national distracted driving effort focuses on ways to change the behavior of drivers through legislation, enforcement, public awareness and education which are the same tools that have been used to curb drunk driving and increase seat belt use.

The WTSC is also placing distracted driving ads statewide, showing the consequences of a teen who texts while driving a vehicle filled with her friends.

Like what you see here? 15 officers stopped 128 vehicles, and 95 of those stops were for distracted driving.

“People just don’t feel the same way about distracted driving”, Cole said.

It Can Wait is AT&T’s national campaign to raise awareness of the dangers posed by a driver who is distracted by their mobile device.