Distracted Driving & Making Our Roadways Safer
Operation Safe Driver aims to increase commercial vehicle and non-commercial vehicle traffic enforcement, seat belt enforcement, driver roadside inspections, driver regulatory compliance, and awareness to the motoring public about safe operations around commercial motor vehicles.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association 2010 report entitled “Curbing Distracted Driving”, fatalities due to distracted driving increased more than 20% from 2004 to 2008.
Distracted driving has become a major public safety issue worldwide. It is clearly a significant contributor to accidents and can be just as devastating as accidents caused by impaired driving or other dangerous driving behaviors.
No one is immune to distracted driving. Texting, eating, addressing other passengers, road rage, overly loud music, or even simple daydreaming are just some of the most common types of distracted driving.
There are 9.4 million kids between the ages of 16-24 driving on the highways. They make up less than 5% of all licensed drivers, yet they are involved in 13.5% of all accidents, and 10.1% of fatal accidents. Watch for young drivers, and drivers who are clearly multi-tasking behind the wheel. The less experience they have, or the more distracted they appear, the more space you should give them.
As professional flatbed truck drivers, please offer your thoughts below on what it means to be a safe truck driver with regards to Distracted Driving. Offer your insight to pinpointing distracted motorists, as well as ways to prevent your own distracted driving.