National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and driver distraction continues to be a major factor in crashes that result in fatalities and serious injuries. The National Road Safety Foundation says education and intervention can help limit distracted driving.

Some sources, including the National Distracted Driving Coalition, estimate that from 25 to 30 percent of fatal crashes involve distracted driving, which translates to an estimated 11,500 to 13,800 deaths every year.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says there are more than 325,000 serious injuries every year from distracted driving crashes.

As part of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, state and local police will partner with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the annual “U Drive. U Text. You Pay” campaign to aggressively enforce distracted driving laws.

The National Road Safety Foundation has brief videos about distracted driving that can be viewed or downloaded for FREE from https://www.nrsf.org/resources/distraction. The site also has a free downloadable self-assessment quiz titled “Am I Distracted?” that points out common behaviors that cause distraction while driving.

We spoke with the Director of Operations of The National Road Safety Foundation, Michelle Anderson, to learn more.

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