Join FOX 2 as we encourage drivers to take a personal pledge to STOP DISTRACTED DRIVING.
Our goal is simple:
- Change behavior in St. Louis.
- Prevent unnecessary accidents.
- SAVE LIVES.
What you need to know about Distracted Driving:
From CDC.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving:
Each day in the United States, approximately 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.
Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash.
Bommarito Automotive Group talking about the lasting effects of Distracted Driving.
Brown & Crouppen educating drivers on your legal implications of Distracted Driving.
Join FOX 2 and KPLR 11 at the 26th Annual Saint Louis Art Fair September 6 – 8, 2019 in downtown Clayton featuring juried artists from all over the U.S.
We invite you to test your distracted driving skills in the Arrive Alive simulator.
What are the types of distraction?
There are three main types of distraction:
- Visual: Taking your eyes off the road
- Manual: Taking your hands off the wheel
- Cognitive: Taking your mind off of driving
Distracted driving activities
Distracted driving activities include things like using a cell phone, texting, and eating. Using in-vehicle technologies (such as navigation systems) can also be sources of distraction. While any of these distractions can endanger the driver and others, texting while driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction.
Over 2.5 million people in the U.S. are involved in road accidents each year. The population of the US is just 318.9 million. This is an astounding number of traffic accidents.
Of these, 1.6 million have a cell phone involved in them. That’s 64% of all the road accidents in the United States. Over half the road accidents in the States have cell phones involved, and if this doesn’t make you realize just how potent it is, what will?
- 37,000+ people die in automobile crashes in the U.S every year
- 1 out of 4 car accidents in the US are caused by texting while driving.
- Texting and driving is 6 times more likely to get you in an accident than drunk driving.
- It takes an average of three seconds after a driver’s mind is taken off the road for any road accident to occur.
- The average speed in the US is about 55 mph. In five seconds to read a text, means that the driver travels the length of a football field without looking at the road, or being distracted.
- When you text while driving, the time that you spend with your eyes off the road increases by about 400%.
- The chances of a crash because of any reason is increased by 23 times when you are texting.
Take our pledge to drive S.A.F.E. – Sober and Free of Electronics
Download apps that will disable your phone when you are in motion over 10 MPH:
AT&T DriveMode is a free*, safe driving app that helps prevent distractions while driving by silencing incoming alerts, including iMessages. The app activates when speed reaches 15 MPH and deactivates when speed drops below 15 MPH for 2-3 minutes. The impacts of distracted driving affect us all, so we’ve made DriveMode available to customers of all wireless companies. Parental Alerts that send an SMS to the parent if the app is turned off or if auto-mode is disabled (available to AT&T postpaid customers only; alert sent to AT&T mobile numbers only). Auto-reply responses to SMS and MMS messages with a personalized
safe driving message (AT&T postpaid customers only)
The Arrive Alive application automatically engages once the speed of your vehicle reaches 10 mph. It blocks distractions on your phone–like text messaging, phone calls, games, and other apps. If a navigation or music-playing app is open on your device prior to the Arrive Alive app engaging, that app will continue to function in the background. Calls can be enabled through your Bluetooth or other hands-free devices. While in use, the app displays the “Arrive Alive” logo, and reminds you to drive safely. There is an onscreen button to call 911 in case of emergency. There is also a passenger mode feature which will allow full access to the phone by the passenger of the vehicle for random intervals of time. When your vehicle slows to less than 10 mph, there will be a 30 second delay for the app to disengage, while you pull over and park. The app will thank you for driving safely, and return your phone to its normal function.
Take the survey below to find out how much you know about Distracted Driving:
