NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – “We do know that whatever stats the federal government has right now is wrong, and it’s a much bigger issue than we ever imagined,” says AAA Spokesman Don Redman.
A seven-year study conducted by the AAA Foundation revealed distracted driving among teens can be both dangerous and deadly.
“Six out of ten crashes involve some kind of distraction,” says Redman.
And when it comes to adults behind the wheel, accidents caused by distracted driving is a growing trend and teens aren’t the only ones to blame for using their cell phones while driving.
“Anytime of a typical text, your eyes are off the road about five seconds, and you’ve traveled the distance of a football field just in that period of driving during a text,” says Redman.
Redman says studies show texting while driving mimics similar behavior of someone who has had the equivalent of four beers.
Not to mention, cell phones employ the top three distractions behind the wheel in one device.
There’s a “manual distraction,” where you’re hands are off the wheel. A “visual distraction” implies your eyes are off the road for any given period and then there’s the “cognitive distraction,” where your mind is simply elsewhere.
“The majority of people feel comfortable talking on the phone, but that’s a big distraction because again, your mind is somewhere else. When you’re having a conversation on that phone, it’s not on driving,” says Redman.
Each Sunday during the Month of April we will bring you a new story about distracted driving.
This segment was brought to you by “SpeeDee Oil Change and Auto Service.”
