Editorial: State right in the targeting of distracted drivers

Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, April 10, 2019

This is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, but every day should be distracted driver awareness day on our roadways.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said this week that if drivers don’t park their phone when their car is in drive, they could be handed a ticket for violating Georgia’s hands-free law.

GOHS will be participating in a nationwide enforcement effort coordinated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to clamp down on all forms of distracted driving.

Beginning Monday, Apr. 8, GOHS will join local law enforcement agencies statewide throughout the week for high-visibility, daytime distracted driving enforcement to kick off a month of related activities.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the number of distracted driving crashes in Georgia has risen by more than 400 percent in the last decade. In 2016, there were 25,215 crashes in the state where “inattentive,” “cell phone” or “distracted” was listed as the contributing crash factor, compared to 5,784 such crashes in 2006.

Georgia’s hands-free law went into effect on July 1, 2018, and since that time the Georgia State Patrol said that it has issued more than 15,000 hands-free citations.

But, the reckless, dangerous behavior is still happening all the time on our roadways and people are dying because of it.

According to NHTSA, drivers who are talking on their phones are four times as likely to be involved in a crash as those who are not and the odds of being in a crash increase 23 percent when a driver is texting or sending an e-mail. NHTSA data also shows that drivers 16-24 are the biggest offenders when it comes to using their phone while driving.

Since 2007, this age group has been observed using hand-held electronic devices while driving at a higher rate than any other age group. In fact, 8 percent of people killed in crashes involving teen drivers in 2017 were killed when those teen drivers were distracted at the time of the crash.

Enough is enough, and people texting and driving have been putting the safety of others at risk for far too long.

The state has offered some very practical advice that includes:

— If you’re expecting a text message or need to send one, pull over and put the vehicle in park.

— Make a passenger your “designated texter.” Give them access to your phone to respond to calls and messages.

— Use a cell phone holder and voice commands or bluetooth devices if calls must me made or answered while driving.

And, perhaps the most practical for those people who just can’t seem to control themselves: Put your cell phone in the trunk, glove compartment, back seat or somewhere else it cannot be reached to avoid temptation.