Distracted Driving Awareness Month: NSC puts spotlight on risky behaviors

Do you text while driving? If so, you’re engaging in one of the most common behaviors that put you and everyone on the road at risk of a crash.

“Most Americans recognize risky drivers on the roadways, but they are not adopting safer behaviors themselves,” Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, said in a press release announcing the kickoff of Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The observance takes place every April to remember the thousands of lives lost each year to preventable crashes.

Recent survey data from NSC shows that 47 percent of drivers believe it’s safe to send a text either manually or via a voice-dictation system while behind the wheel. Other findings:

• 45 percent of drivers said they feel pressure from employers to check email while driving.
• 35 percent of teen drivers reported using social media.
• 33 percent believe it’s acceptable to drive after sleeping less than four hours.
• 13 percent have driven after using marijuana in the past month.
• 10 percent have driven after feeling too impaired by alcohol in the past three months.

“The notion that bad things happen to other people, but will not happen to us when we are distracted behind the wheel, is akin to playing Russian roulette,” Hersman added.

Visit nsc.org/ddmonth for information and resources about Distracted Driving Awareness Month.