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Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Here are a few facts from the National Safety Council:

• One of every four car crashes is caused, in part, by cell phone use.
• Carrying on conversation via cell phone while driving increases your risk of a crash by 4 times.
• Drivers using cell phones fail to see up to 50% of the environment around them.
• Those who text while driving are 8-23 times more likely to get into an accident.

While AAA recommends that you do not use your cell phone while driving, they offer the following tips if you must:

• Keep the conversation short. Avoid emotional conversations until you are parked safely. Save casual conversations for later.
• Make sure you are familiar with the features of your cell phone before getting behind the wheel.
• Let callers leave a message and return it later when you are parked safely. If you must answer the call, inform the caller that you are driving.
• If you use your cell, avoid other distracting activities such as eating, smoking, or tending to a child.
• Ask your passenger to make the call for you if that is possible.

For more information about distracted driving visit www.focusdriven.org or the National Safety Council Web site.