Summary
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver each year. According to the National Occupant Protection Use Survey, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving at a typical daylight moment in the U.S. Many distracted drivers are young — 10% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash, according to Distraction.gov. Drivers in their 20s comprise more than one-quarter of distracted drivers in fatal crashes. In honor of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, The Honorable Anthony Foxx, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and Jay Winsten, Frank Stanton Director of the Center for Health Communication at Harvard School of Public Health and Associate Dean for Health Communication, explored how to keep Americans safer on the road through approaches such as education campaigns, smart technology, and law enactment and enforcement.
Part of: Policy Controversies.
Presented in Collaboration with The Huffington Post
Background Articles
- Distraction.gov
U.S. Government Website for Distracted Driving - Huffington Post
Distracted Driving Page - Stopping Distracted Driving: What Will It Take?
HSPH Center for Health Communication
Image Credit: Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation
