Distracted driving is one of the most pressing issues in today’s traffic safety. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than 80 percent of drivers have admitted to feeling less safe on the roads, citing distracted driving as a serious cause. Nearly half of those people say they felt safer on the roads five years ago due to decreased distracted driving opportunities.
Distraction today contributes to 16 percent of all fatal crashes, leading to around 5,000 deaths every year. The recent focus regarding distracted driving has to do with latency. Latency suggests that even after drivers put their cellphones down or stop the distracting behavior, it takes an average of 27 seconds to fully engage with the driving task again.
The AAA Foundation is dedicated to the belief that knowledge is power, and educating citizens is the first step in reducing distracted driving. One way is to help others understand the mental and physical distractions that can impair drivers and educate drivers on how to avoid the distractions. Such education efforts are an attempt to eliminate needless deaths due to distracted driving.
To learn more traffic safety tips visit the Safe Communities Website.