April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month
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News from Lake County Buckle Up Coalition
LAKE COUNTY — Montana is only one of a handful of states that has not implemented a statewide ban on text messaging by all drivers. All the states surrounding Montana have a primary law that bans texting by all drivers, except for South Dakota, which has a secondary law.
Many of the states also ban cell phone use at all for young drivers first and then add texting in for all drivers as the second clause. While many cities in Montana have passed their own cell phone bans, like Billings, Helena, Bozeman and Butte, the state has failed so far to pass a statewide law.
There are good reasons why states have passed these safety laws. Because texting involves three types of distractions – visual, manual, and cognitive – it is one of the most dangerous. It is estimated that 15 to 25 percent of all crashes in the country are associated with distraction, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Younger drivers are especially at risk because of the combination of inexperience combined with distraction. Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55 mph, that is enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded.
Nearly 500,000 young adults are injured each year due to various forms of distracted driving. This includes texting, mobile instant messaging, sending photos, etc.
While Montana’s state laws lag behind the rest of the country, we can all do our part in putting the phone or electronic device down while behind the wheel. If you are a parent of a teen, be sure you make it clear that electronic devices are prohibited while driving. Also, a teen’s crash risk goes up when there are teen passengers in the car, so limit other teen passengers. Designate a texter when you are the driver. Borrow thumbs from a friend or lend yours to a friend. Driving is a great privilege, and with that privilege, comes responsibility. And, you know what your best defense is against any distracted driver – and that is wearing your seat belt, every trip, every time.
