Tag Archives: distracted

General Safety Issues

TOP AGENCIES ARE SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT DISTRACTED DRIVING

The month of December is one of the heaviest traffic times of the year, as shoppers go about their business, and the working world carries on their daily duties.  There are more travelers, too, so the focus on preventing distracted driving is very important, at all times, but especially when there are more vehicles in city streets and on the highways.

Department of Transportation unveils ‘OMG’ PSA to warn teens about the dangers of distracted driving.

The U.S. Department of Transportation unveiled “OMG,” a new public service announcement (PSA) to warn teenagers against the dangers of distracted driving. The PSA is available on the newly redesigned Distraction.gov website, along with new materials designed especially for young drivers. The new PSA is designed to reach teenagers using imagery that relates to popular shorthand text messages such as “L8R” for “later” or “LOL” for “laugh out loud.” Two versions of the PSA will air. A version geared toward a teenage audience will run exclusively on 6,589 movie screens in 526 cinemas across the country. A more somber version will air on the 12,000 screens that top pumps at high traffic gas stations across the United States.

The human toll is tragic,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels about the consequences of distracted driving. “The Department of Transportation reports that in 2009, more than 5,400 people died in crashes linked to distraction and thousands more were injured.

Texting while driving has become such a prominent hazard that 30 states now ban text messaging for all drivers. It is an employer’s responsibility and legal obligation to create and maintain a safe and healthful workplace, and that would include having a clear, unequivocal and enforced policy against the hazard of texting while driving.” In an Oct. 20 blog post, Michaels said, “Companies are in violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act if, by policy or practice, they require texting while driving, or create incentives that encourage or condone it, or they structure work so that texting is a practical necessity for workers to carry out their job.” 

Agencies such as OSHA, the Department of Transportation, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, are working together to ensure that companies enforce the policy that their employees who are required to drive all or part of their work shift do not text while driving.  Technology has made workers able to accomplish more by faster communications; however, there is a time and place for use of a cell phone, and it is not while driving.  These calls should be made when the driver is stopped and pulled over.  If there is an accident because of talking or texting on a cell phone, how much time is saved then?  For more information, visit OSHA’s Distracted Driving Web page. 

ONE TEXT OR CALL COULD WRECK IT ALL

Distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways. As stated previously, in 2009 alone, nearly 5,500 people were killed and 450,000 more were injured in distracted driving crashes.  The U.S. Department of Transportation is leading the effort to stop texting and cell phone use behind the wheel. Since 2009, two national  distracted driving summits have been held, banned texting and cell phone use for commercial drivers, encouraged states to adopt tough laws, and launched several campaigns to raise public awareness about the issue.  Distraction.gov is your resource for learning more about distracted driving. Get the facts, get involved, and help us keep America’s roadways safe.  If you haven’t seen the videos, go to this website and see for yourself just how fast tragedy can strike.

Sources: USDOT, NHTSA, OSHA

General Safety Issues

TURN THE PHONE OFF WHILE DRIVING, PLEASE!

1 Comment

Continuing with this important message about safety while driving (featuring cell phone use), the National Safety Council is using the final week of National Safety Month to focus on the theme: On the Road – Off the Phone!  Yesterday, we gave statistics that involve crashes on U.S. highways, many attributed to distracted driving, and that distracted driving has been added to the top leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes, along with alcohol and speeding.  Using a cell phone while driving can be a serious distraction. 

Drivers must understand the full impact of driving while talking on cell phones with either handheld or hands-free phones.  We want to explain how cognitively complex it is to talk on the phone and drive a vehicle at the same time, and why this drains the brain’s resources.  We like to think of ourselves as being able to “multitask” in today’s society.  Even though you may complete a phone coversation while driving and arrive safely, you did not “multitask” and you did not accomplish both tasks with optimal focus and effectiveness.

Our brains cannot perform two tasks at the same time.  The brain handles tasks sequentially, switching between one task and another. Yes, they can juggle tasks very quickly, which makes us think that we are doing two things at the same time.  However, we are switching attention between tasks, doing only one at a time.  The brain has to decide what to pay attention to.  This is known as “attention switching.”  When you are talking on a cell phone while driving, your brain is dealing with divided attention.  You may be more interested in the conversation than the warnings of navigation and safety hazards.  You may be so involved in the phone conversation that you fail to see a red light or stop sign, until it is too late. 

According to Barry Kantowitz, Director of University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, thinking about a conversation requires mental capability made for safe driving.  He doesn’t hold out much hope for hands-free devices because they tend to reduce the amount of concentration required to process a phone conversation.  University of Kansas psychology professor, Paul Atchley states, “hands-free devices are only safer under very limited circumstances”.  In his work, hands-free devices show a reduction in attention in drivers 20-years-old, to the same attention level they see in many 85-year-old drivers.

We think it’s easy to talk on a cell phone while taking a walk, but even then your judgment can be impaired.  If that’s the case, think how much more responsibility you should show when you are behind the wheel.  Listening to music does not result in lower response time, according to studies.  But when the same drivers talk on cell phones, they do have a slower response time.  Loud music, however, can prevent drivers from hearing sirens and other warnings they should be alert for.

These articles are meant for drivers of every age.  It is our hope that thinking about this will keep yourself and others on the road safer.  I see mothers driving down the streets with little children in the back seat,  but they are more engaged in texting and talking on the phone.  All of us can name an incident where there was a sign of inattention by a driver, (even a close call!)  I know someone who can’t seem to talk while driving without turning to address her audience in the back seat.  We can all make a list of things that shouldn’t be done while driving, let me go first! 

But this week’s focus is on leaving the cell phone off while driving.  This is not too much to ask of anyone.  It would be great, if technology could do it for us; then we wouldn’t have to trust each other to do the right thing!   Please drive safely!  Remember, you must pay attention to the other guy, as well as yourself.

General Safety Issues

A COMMENT REGARDING “DRIVE SAFELY WORK WEEK”

3 Comments

October 4 – 8 is Drive Safely Work Week.  This years’ campaign is about the dangers of distracted of driving, and is sponsored by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety.  How many persons on our nation’s roads drive trucks or buses for a living?  They have the responsibility to focus on driving safely every day.  The rest of us should do the same. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 40,000 Americans die on our highways every year.  Every twelve minutes someone dies in a vehicular accident on U.S. Roads.  Every 10 seconds someone is injured and has to be taken to an Emergency Room.  It is also estimated that in addition to the 40,000 Americans who die annually, another 270,000 are hospitalized, resulting in costs  exceeding ninety-nine billion dollars to states and our nation.  Even though the NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) says vehicle fatalities have declined in recent years due to newer vehicles having better safety features, and seat belt use has improved, the number of traffic deaths caused by distracted driving has increased. 

The agency reports that distracted drivers cause 4 out of 5 motor vehicle crashes in the U.S.  The main distractions are cell phones and gadgets. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that more than 500,000 persons are injured and nearly 6,000 die in accidents annually caused by distracted drivers.  

If you think you have already read the above article, you have!   The following comment was sent to me from Teresa Breen, and it is an important message that I want to share with all our readers.  Please give her comment extra special attention: 

 “We lost our son March 15, 2009 because he was texting while driving. He had everything going for him, he was just 23, a United States Marine and father and he let something as silly as texting take his life. I have made it a point in my life to speak and teach any and everyone I can on these dangers so maybe just one family will not have to go thru the pain and suffering we go thru everyday. Please look at your last text and tell me, is it really worth dying over or possibly killing someone else?? Thank you,”

After reading her comment, I asked permission to share this message with our readers, and this was her response:

“PLEASE share, my husband and myself have made it our mission now to get our sons story out there and pray that it saves just one life. I am not sure I mentioned but we have done a PSA/Documentary for AT&T and also for a company named Motion Masters a learning video that is for schools and businesses. Your life is changed forever and there is not a waking second that you do not think of your child, a parent is not supposed to bury their child… Keep the articles going.. God Bless..”

So, again: put down the cell phone, or turn it off.  Those messages will be there when you are able to stop.  The cost of human life is worth more than some conversation on the phone.  Things can happen too quickly, especially when we are behind the wheel.  If you have to make a call, by all means, pull over and stop.  You will be much safer, and so will the others that are sharing the road with you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Safety Issues

DISTRACTED DRIVERS ARE DEADLY DRIVERS, Part II

Week four of National Safety Month, 2010, in the U.S. focuses on distracted drivers using cell phones.  Parts of this article were originally written for week four of National Safety Month, 2009; however, things haven’t changed very much in a year’s time.  There have probably been more persons to add to the statistics that have killed or injured by someone who was texting or using a cell phone while driving.  (On ABC News last night, it was reported that there is a 23% more risk of an accident if texting on a cell phone while driving.) Let’s hope someone out there will heed this message.
Our vehicles now have so many complex DVD players, CD players, bluetooth and satellite navigation systems that it’s a wonder we actually have time to focus on the main thing – driving!  The National Highway Transportation Highway Safety Administration reports that distracted drivers cause nearly 4 out of 5 motor vehicle crashes in the United States.  Now we get to the major culprit: cell phones.    In a survey taken by a major insurance company, almost 40% of teens and young adults admitted that they send and receive text messages while driving, and also said they hit someone while doing so, or were almost hit by another car whose driver was talking/texting on their cell phone.
In our article earlier this year, “Thank You, Oprah,” we recognized this celebrity who has convinced thousands of drivers to take the “No Phone Zone Pledge.”  If you have seen just one of her shows that features a family or person who has been affected by an accident caused by a driver using their cell phone or texting while driving, it should have convinced you to sign her pledge. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that more than 150,000 persons are injured in accidents caused by drivers either texting or talking on their cell phones each year.
The next time you get behind the wheel, think about your total commitment to safe driving.  Things that are going on in your life that might cause you to become distracted, are not worth losing your life over.  Try this:
o Turn the cell phone off.  Your messages will be on it when you arrive safely at your destination.  (In your heart, you know it’s the right thing to do!)
o Visit with your passengers without looking at them. (They can still hear you.)
o Don’t eat while driving, and of course, don’t drink alcohol while driving (it’s against the law!),
o Put your make up on before you leave the house.
o Do your reading at home, work, or the library!
o Set your entertainment or navigation systems before you start.
o Strap in the kids and hope for the best.
More and more travelers will take to the roads during the summer months.  Always stay focused on being a safe driver.  That should be your #1 priority every time you start the car.  Don’t let distractions get in your way.
Week four of National Safety Month, 2010, in the U.S. focuses on distracted drivers using cell phones.  Parts of this article were originally written for week four of National Safety Month, 2009; however, things haven’t changed very much in a year’s time.  There have probably been more persons to add to the statistics that have killed or injured by someone who was texting or using a cell phone while driving.  (On ABC News recently, it was reported that there is a 23% more risk of an accident if texting on a cell phone while driving.) Let’s hope someone out there will heed this message.
Our vehicles now have so many complex DVD players, CD players, bluetooth and satellite navigation systems that it’s a wonder we actually have time to focus on the main thing – driving!  The National Highway Transportation Highway Safety Administration reports that distracted drivers cause nearly 4 out of 5 motor vehicle crashes in the United States.  Now we get to the major culprit: cell phones.    In a survey taken by a major insurance company, almost 40% of teens and young adults admitted that they send and receive text messages while driving, and also said they hit someone while doing so, or were almost hit by another car whose driver was talking/texting on their cell phone.
In our article earlier this year, “Thank You, Oprah,” we recognized this celebrity who has convinced thousands of drivers to take the “No Phone Zone Pledge.”  If you have seen just one of her shows that features a family or person who has been affected by an accident caused by a driver using their cell phone or texting while driving, it should have convinced you to sign her pledge. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that more than 150,000 persons are injured in accidents caused by drivers either texting or talking on their cell phones each year.
The next time you get behind the wheel, think about your total commitment to safe driving.  Things that are going on in your life that might cause you to become distracted, are not worth losing your life over.  Try this:
  • Turn the cell phone off.  Your messages will be on it when you arrive safely at your destination.  (In your heart, you know it’s the right thing to do!)
  • Visit with your passengers without looking at them. (They can still hear you.)
  • Don’t eat while driving, and of course, don’t drink alcohol while driving (it’s against the law!),
  • Put your make up on before you leave the house.
  • Do your reading at home, work, or the library!
  • Set your entertainment or navigation systems before you start.
  • Strap in the kids and hope for the best.
More and more travelers will take to the roads during the summer months.  Always stay focused on being a safe driver.  That should be your #1 priority every time you start the car.  Don’t let distractions get in your way.