The importance of distracted driving awareness month

Every year, 3,000 people are killed as a result of distracted driving, an average of eight people per day. Distracted Driving Awareness Month was established to change this by drawing attention to this critical issue. The United States has made significant advances in auto technology, including numerous hands-free technology options, but distractions continue to proliferate.

What is distracted driving?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines distracted driving as any activity that diverts attention away from driving, such as:

  • Talking or texting on your phone
  • Eating and drinking
  • Talking to people in your vehicle
  • Changing the music or radio station
  • Using your navigation system

The most dangerous distraction is texting and driving, because texting diverts a driver's attention away from the road for an average of five seconds. With an average speed of 55 miles per hour, a driver could travel the length of a football field without looking during those few seconds.

Although texting and driving is a specific example of distracted driving, anything that diverts your attention away from the road is risky.

Driving distracted: Why it must stop

Distractions cause drivers to divert their attention away from the road, increasing the likelihood of a collision. Distractions endanger not only the driver, but everyone else on the road as well. Statistics on distracted driving show that this is a major issue:

  • Distracted driving is a factor in one out of every ten fatal crashes in the United States (NHTSA)
  • Every year, approximately 280,000 people are injured as a result of distracted driving. (NHTSA)
  • In 2018, approximately one-fifth of the people who died in crashes involving a distracted driver were not in vehicles; they were walking, riding their bikes, or otherwise outside of a vehicle. (CDC)
  • A 2008 AAA Foundation report reviewed dozens of studies and concluded that any cell phone use roughly quadruples crash risk. (AAA Foundation)
  • Distracted driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. (National Safety Council)
  • Drivers who text spend about 10% of their driving time outside their own driving lane. (Drivesafeonline.org)

Distracted Driving Slogans

In addition to Distracted Driving Awareness Month, many campaigns have been launched in the last 12 years to raise awareness of the issue. Here are some of the most popular slogans used to draw attention to the cause:

  1. Hang Up And Drive.
  2. Your life is more important than that text message.
  3. That phone call can be postponed.
  4. That text message can be postponed.
  5. Don’t Get Distracted. Just Keep On Driving.
  6. Leave The Text Unread Or You’ll End Up Dead.
  7. The Text Message Is Not Worth Your Life.
  8. A Second Off The Road Can Kill You.

Types of distracted driving

There are several types of distracted driving, and we've broken them down to help you understand what to look out for.

Type

Definition

Examples

Visual

Anything that takes your visual field away from the direction you are driving.

GPS, phone, billboards, street signs, cars, people on the street, maps, passengers or the radio.

Manual

When you take your hands off the wheel.

Eating, drinking, putting on makeup and looking through the glove box or console.

Cognitive

When your attention or concentration is hindered by some sort of mental distraction.

Daydreaming, thinking about work, thinking about dinner, etc.

How to help prevent distracted driving

There are several things you can do to help prevent distracted driving and keep everyone on the road safer.

  • Avoid texting and driving: Turn off your phone's notifications while driving and reserve your cell phone for emergencies only.
  • Download apps that provide incentives for driving hands-free:
    • This App Saves Lives (TASL) awards points for time spent away from your phone while driving, which you can then redeem for rewards at popular retailers. Download This App Saves Lives from the App Store today and enter the code StrongInsurance in the Referral ID field during registration to instantly earn 500 Bonus TASL Points.
    • OnMyWay will pay you to put your phone away while driving. When your car exceeds 10 mph, the app activates and disables text and app alerts.
    • DriveSense records your driving habits. It creates maps of your driving patterns and behaviors, provides trip advice, and assists you in saving money on insurance.
    • DriveEasy is a service that helps drivers with Geico insurance get a better rate and save money.
  • Don't drive if you're tired: Drowsy driving is similar to drunk driving — 18 hours of sleep deprivation is equivalent to a blood alcohol content (BAC) of.05 percent.
  • Avoid multitasking while driving: Multitasking is a major cause of manual distracted driving because it forces you to take your hands off the steering wheel, making it nearly impossible to focus on the road.
  • Limit the number of passengers in the vehicle: Passengers add a new layer of distraction while driving because they may be talking, changing the radio, or playing on their phones.