Since 2007, drivers age 1624 have been distracted by devices at higher rates than other drivers, but were all at risk for distracted driving crashes. Despite safer vehicles, road fatalities continue to increase organization the u. Distracted driving policy and employer responsibilities. In order to increase employee safety and eliminate unnecessary risks behind the wheel, st. The national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa has released a couple of violent public service announcement clips regarding the dangers of distracted driving. Distracted driving in fatal crashes, april 2019 pdf, 177.
In 2015, 3,477 people were killed, and 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. Comparing the risk of crash while driving distracted to driving under the influence, the ntsb notes that distracted driving is becoming. Therefore, employers are responsible for maintaining the safety of their workers, and setting up an effective distracted driving policy is part of this. Additional resources national highway traffic safety. Distracted driving 2018 traffic safety is public safety. Nhtsa leads the national effort to save lives by preventing this dangerous behavior. Know the facts nine percent of fatal crashes in 2017 were reported as distractionaffected crashes.
Numerous studies have demonstrated how the use of cell phones and other wireless devices while driving pose a significant safety risk to motorists, their passengers and others on the road. April is national distracted driving awareness month. The cost of distracted driving for companies is high, considering potential costs related to injuries and liability. Bonanti associate administrator rulemaking, nhtsa nhtsas driver distraction guidelines informal document wp. Distractions are shown to compromise the safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians, and people in other vehicles. Distracted driving may lead to other dangerous behaviors including speeding. Distraction national highway traffic safety administration. Nhtsas distracteddriving guidelines say handsfree calls. Sample distracted driving policy of increasing concern to company name is the proliferation of mobile electronics. Policy statement and compiled faqs on distracted driving. Nhtsas national highvisibility multimedia advertising campaign and law enforcement blitz to enforce distracted driving. In addition to guidelines for device manufacturers, the nhtsa encourages drivers to take the following precautions when behind the wheel to.
Distracted drivers arent just a threat to themselves. Evaluation of the nhtsa distracted driving highvisibility enforcement demonstration projects in california and delaware. Consequently, nhtsa is issuing nonbinding, voluntary driver distraction guidelines nhtsa. T alking on or manipulating your phone, adjusting the radio, applying makeup, eating or drinking can all distract you from the essential task of safe driving. In partnership with the national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa, the international association of chiefs of police iacp is dedicated to giving law enforcement agencies the tools and resources needed to reduce fatal and injury crashes resulting from distracted driving, including data and. Agency plans nhtsa distracted driving research plan april 2010 pdf doths811299. Distracted driving policy examples because driving while distracted is a leading cause or contributor to motor vehicle incidents mvis, one of the most effective ways that employers can make a positive impact to reduce workrelated mvis is to have and implement a policy that prohibits cell phone use while driving, and restricts your. Tasks that require the driver to take a hand or hands off the. This report focuses on driver distraction from talking or tex ting on a. For example, an employer should consider whether it wants to prohibit the use of both handheld and handsfree devices while operating any vehicle for business purpose whether owned by the business or not. Frequently asked questions what is distracted driving. There is considerable variability in state distracted driving laws. Far too many drivers succumb to the deadlyand often illegaltemptation that has emerged as one of the most common forms of distracted drivingtexting.
The dangers of distracted driving are serious deadly serious. Distracted driving is a subset within the definition of inattention, which most importantly includes fatigue and emotional conditions road rage is a real thing. For the past decade, distracted driving has taken u. Distracted driving data from the nhtsa, cdc, and national. The national highway traffic and safety administration, nhtsa, compiles accident data gathered by local police, and has developed a categorization of the causes of accidents. Accordingly, the following requirements and best practices are the. We are committed to ending the epidemic of distracted driving, and have created the following rules, which. Understanding the effects of distracted driving and developing strategies to reduce resulting deaths and injuries. Ask your students to commit to distractionfree driving or set a company policy on. Any nondriving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of being involved in a motor vehicle crash. In 2015, there were 3,196 fatal crashes that occurred on u. Nhtsa issues guidelines to prevent driver distraction.
Nhtsa recently developed, in conjunction with 20 safety groups and associations, a sample distracted driving law. Please refer to the province for any additional information, although. A distractionaffected crash is any crash in which a driver. The distraction induced by any secondary task performed while driving should not exceed that associated with a baseline reference task manual radio tuning 4. The national distracted driving effort focuses on ways to change the behavior of drivers through legislation, enforcement, public awareness, and education. The driver, not the systemdevice, should control the pace of task. The 2015 national survey on distracted driving attitudes and behaviors nsddab is the third in a series of telephone surveys on distracted driving providing data to help further the understanding of driving behavior and to contribute to the development of countermeasures and interventions to reduce distracted driving on the nations roadways. This was an update of the overview of the national highway traffic safety administration s driver distraction program. Spectrum of prevention distracted driving prevention. Distracted driving policy examples road safety at work. Guidelines for reducing visualmanual driver distraction during. Distracted driving is so risky its worse than drunk driving. On average, 12 people are killed and 1,376 injured in 4,001 crashes each year due to distracted driving in nebraska. Oct 28, 20 please read the distracted driving policy, sign and return to your supervisor.
Any task performed by a driver should be interruptible at any time 5. Why driving while using handsfree is risky behavior. Marys university has enacted a distracted driving policy, effective 102820. Department of transportation dot national highway transportation administration nhtsa declared that distracted driving is. These two documents summarize nhtsas planned steps to help in its longterm goal of eliminating a specific category of crashesthose. Nhtsa works daily to help prevent all types of crashes and reduce their attendant costs, both human and financial. However, while nhtsa may define the terms in this manner, inattention and distraction are often used interchangeably or simultaneously, including in police accident reports. Distracted driving is any nondriving activity a person engages in while. National survey on distracted driving attitudes and. The communities of hartford, connecticut, and syracuse, new york implemented yearlong campaigns to test whether nhtsas highvisibility enforcement hve model could be applied to reduce two specific forms of distracted driving driving while talking on a handheld cell phone or texting. The age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under20 age group 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. Distracted driving refers to the act of driving while engaging in other activities which distract the drivers attention away from the road. Safely operating a motor vehicle requires a drivers total attention. Ten percent of fatal crashes in 2011 were reported as dis.
Current and previous nhtsa research investigates how distraction impacts driver performance, and develops and evaluated vehiclebased countermeasures to minimize the negative effects. Centers for disease control and prevention, at least eight people are killed in distracted driving accidents every day in the united states. States can also adopt and enforce laws to ban distracted driving. Policy statement national highway traffic safety administration.
Distracted driving state advocacy the national transportation safety board ntsb recommends that states ban use of all portable electronic devices, including handsfree devices, for all drivers. Cellular device use while behind the wheel is one of the most common forms of distracted driving. Nhtsa is encouraging state and local government partners to reduce fatalities and crashes by identifying ways that states can address distracted driving in their strategic highway safety plans. Distracted driving in fatal crashes, 2017 external icon. From 20102017, 32,011 crashes were caused by distracted driving behaviors, leading to 11,005 injuries and 101 fatalities. Specifically, distraction caused by cell phone use while driving. The distracted driving toolkit provides law enforcement chief executives, command staff, firstline supervisors, and patrol officers with effective strategies that have been used by others to improve distracted driving education and enforcement in their communities, along with tactics to reduce officer distraction in patrol vehicles. Federal register visualmanual nhtsa driver distraction. Additional resources home national highway traffic safety. Using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of a crash by four times, and texting increases crash risk by 23 times.
April is national distracted driving awareness month in april, states and communities across the country will participate in the fifth annual national distracted driving awareness month. Driving with distraction american council on science and. The primary responsibility of the driver is to operate a motor vehicle safely. Tenminute training topics distracted driving statistics the national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa estimates that approximately 25% of policereported crashes involve some form of driver inattention the driver is distracted, asleep or fatigued, or otherwise lost in thought. Nhtsa recommends that states prohibit novice drivers from using electronic communication devices including cell phones during the learners and intermediate stages of a threestage graduated driver license gdl program. Nhtsa releases graphic public service announcement videos. Our state and local partners are keys to any success we will have in addressing distracted driving. Studies from a number of countries suggest that the proportion of drivers using mobile phones while driving has increased over the past 510 years, ranging from 1% to up to 11%. Of increasing concern to company name is the proliferation of mobile electronics. Twenty percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving.
Evaluation of nhtsa distracted driving demonstration projects in. Department of transportations usdot national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa is mobilizing law enforcement officers nationwide to look out for drivers texting or using their phone behind the wheel. Distracted driving is any form of activity that diverts a persons attention away from their primary task of driving, including texting, eating and drinking, grooming, talking on the phone or to passengers and listening to loud music. Is your companys distracted driving policy uptodate. Studies show that texting simultaneously involves manual, visual, and mental. Distracted driving is one of the fastest growing safety issues on the roads today. Using electronic devices while driving is a serious safety. Tasks that require the driver to take a hand off the. However, to better protect employees from the hazards of distracted driving, a policy may want to cover more than just texting or emailing.
Instead of issuing strong new safety standards to deal with the escalating problem of distracted driving, nhtsa has issued only nonbinding voluntary guidelines that. Distracted driving distracted driving is any form of activity that diverts a persons attention away from their primary task of driving, including texting, eating and drinking, grooming, talking on the phone or to passengers, and listening to loud music. The national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa is concerned about the effects of distraction on motor vehicle safety due to drivers use of electronic devices. Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 2,841 lives in 2018 alone. Distracted driving occurs any time you take your eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, and mind off your primary task. Distracted driving is any form of activity that diverts a persons attention away from their primary task of driving, including texting, eating and drinking, grooming, talking on the phone or to passengers, and listening to loud music.
Texting while driving generally involves visual, manual, and cognitive distraction. According to the national highway traffic safety administration nhtsa, driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. Transportation secretary ray lahood and the national highway traffic safety administration issued a rough draft of preliminary recommendations on distracted driving. Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 3,166 lives in 2017 alone. The task of driving requires full attention and focus.
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