National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April 11, 2016

Distracted driving contributed to more than 58,000 motor vehicle accidents in Kentucky last year. These accidents led to over 15,000 injuries and 182 deaths. These distracted driving crashes made up 43 percent of total accidents in Kentucky in 2015, and 24 percent of total fatal accidents in the state.

Distracted driving continues to be a major source of accidents, injury and death across the country. April is designated as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and now is a great opportunity to pledge to eliminate dangerous sources of distraction while you drive.

Here are some tips to manage common distractions while you are driving:

• Don’t text and drive
• Don’t eat or snack while you’re driving
• Drive only when you are well-rested
• Avoid heated, emotional and otherwise attention-consuming conversations with your passengers
• If you are a passenger in the vehicle of someone who appears to be distracted, let them know you are uncomfortable and feel your safety is at-risk

By raising awareness about how dangerous distracted driving really is, we can all do our part to reduce this dangerous behavior. Just as the country has worked hard to make clear the dangers of drunk driving, so too must we set an expectation of non-distraction for ourselves and other drivers.