According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, 3,308 people were killed in 2022 due to Distracted Driving.
The month of April serves as Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Alabama Department of Transportation looks to bring light to the importance of safe and focused driving.
Distracted driving can be classified as anything that takes attention away from driving. That includes talking or texting on the phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in the vehicle and changing the radio station or fidgeting with a GPS.
Anything that takes attention away from the task of driving is a distraction. Visual distractions take your eyes off the road, manual distractions take your hands off the wheel and cognitive distractions take your mind off driving. All these distractions can endanger you, your passengers and others on the road.
Cell phone use – specifically texting talking and social media use – has become the most common distraction. To help decrease distracted driving-related crashes, Alabama passed its hands-free law last year.
The law states that state and local law enforcement can issue tickets to anyone making a call, sending a text, browsing the web, or watching or recording videos with a phone in their hands. In other words, drive hands-free or pay the literal price. Violators are subject to a misdemeanor traffic offense, a fine and points on their driving record.
Drivers can follow these tips to help combat distracted driving and drive responsibly:
- Pull over and park your car before sending a text message
- Designate your passenger as your “designated texter” to respond to calls or text messages.
- Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” or use the car’s Bluetooth capabilities.
- Plan ahead – plan your route and your playlist before you start driving.
- The safest practice it to just put the phone away during the drive.
For more tips on how to stay safe while driving or to learn more about Alabama’s hands-free law, visit DriveSafeAlabama.org.
