If you’re short on time, click here to sign the pledge: Distracted Driving Awareness Month Pledge. If you’re not already convinced, read on:
People do enough things that cause accidents without adding cell phone distractions to the list of negligent behaviors. In fact, according to an article citing multiple studies about car accident causes, it’s safe to say 90% of car accidents were caused by human error before smart phones even existed. The fact is that almost 70% of Americans own a smart phone nowadays, and Bellingham drivers are no less immune to the trend.
April is designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Each year, I want to highlight the dangers of distracted driving because it is a focal point of my law practice. I see many cases, like these where people could have prevented devastating injury if they had put their phones down:
Head On Crash Injures Mother and Five Children
Bellingham Man Suffers Broken Bones Because of Distracted Driving
I am here to help accident victims recover from unthinkable damage to their lives, especially when those injuries and losses were avoidable, whether from distracted driving, drunk driving, or just good old fashioned human error.
Doing my part to raise awareness is something I have pledged to do. I came across this pledge posted on the National Safety Council website and have signed it myself. I have posted it below with a link to the online form for my friends, colleagues and clients to sign if they too want to pledge to be safer drivers. If we each take responsibility to never drive while doing any of the behaviors below our roads would be a lot safer.
We all are responsible for what we do pledge to Take Back My Drive for my own safety and for others with whom I share the roads. I choose to not drive distracted in any way – I will not:
- Have a phone conversation – handheld, hands-free, or via Bluetooth
- Text or send Snapchats
- Use voice-to-text features in my vehicle’s dashboard system
- Update Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, Vine or other social media
- Check or send emails
- Take selfies or film videos
- Input destinations into GPS (while the vehicle is in motion)
- Call or message someone else when I know they are driving
To sign the pledge yourself, find it on National Safety Council’s Distracted Driving page. Dedicate your pledge to your spouse, your children, your friends, and your fellow Bellingham neighbors. We can all take easy steps to make our roads safer.
For more on Distracted Driving, click here: Distracted Driving Information and Guidance