'ON THE ROAD, OFF THE PHONE' WEEK

The National Safety Council (NSC) will launch ‘On the Road, Off the Phone’ week, June 26-30, for National Safety Month – an annual observance to educate and influence behaviors around the leading causes of preventable injuries and deaths. Through National Safety Month, NSC calls on the public, communities, municipalities and other organizations to help spread critical safety messages.

Through its website, NSC is providing posters and tip sheets to help people understand why all cell phone use – both handheld and hands-free – is dangerous while driving.

NSC estimates 23 percent of all motor vehicle crashes each year – or 1.3 million – involve drivers talking or texting on cell phones. Driving while using a cell phone requires the brain to multitask – a process it cannot do safely while driving. Drivers focusing their attention on cell phone conversations instead of the roads have a tendency to “look at” but not “see” up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment.

 No cell phone call or text message is worth a life. NSC encourages all drivers to:

• Turn off or silence their cell phones before driving.
• Record a voice mail greeting telling callers it is not safe to make or receive calls while driving, and inform callers that you will return their calls when you are able to do so safely.
• Leave the road and park in a safe area if a call is urgent.
• Encourage family members and friends to stop using their cell phones while driving.

Cell phone use behind the wheel is a growing concern. According to CTIA – The Wireless Association, in 1995, cell phone subscriptions covered only 11% of the U.S. population. By 2010, that number grew to 93%. As the number of cell phone users continues to increase, so does the number of drivers distracted by cell phones.

To learn more about distracted driving, visit distracteddriving.nsc.org.  

from OHSCompCare weekly newsletter