Distracted Driving – A Public Health Epidemic

A pedestrian is killed every two hours and injured every seven minutes somewhere in the U.S. due to distracted driving.

Most drivers feel they can safely take their eyes off the road for 0-2 seconds, but a car can travel the length of a football field in 5 seconds at 55 MPH.

Statistics like this are why more than 3,000 Americans die each year from distracted drivers. Unofficially, that number could be closer to 20,000. Described as an epidemic, this public health issue needs to be addressed.

And while Americans are driving less due to the pandemic, more than 40,000 people died in traffic crashes in 2020 — the largest projected number of fatalities since 2007 — with many of these attributed to distracted driving.

According to Automotive Fleet Magazine, “Studies show that distracted drivers will, on average, only see and recognize 50% of the cars on the road with them.”

Distracted driving is not something only car or non-professional drivers do either. According to Fleetio, “when it occurs in fleets, incidents and crashes impact the fleets financially, legally and reputationally. The financial burden of crash-related expenses can be overwhelming. When a distracted driving crash occurs, it costs the employer on average $72,442.”

Drawing on our over seven years of leadership bringing together purpose-driven companies, government, and community stakeholders who actively work together to create safer roads, we will be waging a multi-channel, integrated marketing campaign to reach more people with the lifesaving message of #JustDrive.

Together for Safer Roads is also proud to help address the dangers of distracted driving by being on the steering committee of The National Distracted Driving Coalition, which consists of the National Transportation Safety Board, American Trucking Associations, the National Safety Council, and other powerful members dedicated to saving lives.

If you are a business or community stakeholder interested in learning how you can join our #JustDrive campaign, contact us today. Let us know if you’d like to learn more about our distracted driving efforts.