POSTED BY: BOB KNOTTS
We found this very encouraging. The National Safety Council reported in their Summer 2014 newsletter that the public at last seems to be awakening to the dangers of texting while driving. And there is support for tough penalties. As you may remember, the Humanity Project created a wonderful program to discourage teenagers from distracted driving. We call it, I Care: Just Let Me Drive, a program developed by teenagers under our guidance to motivate their peers. More teens die from auto accidents than any other cause. But it’s not only kids. We all see adults doing wacky things on the roads — everything except paying attention to their driving. Here’s the brief article, word for word, from the National Safety Council newsletter. We hope you find it as hopeful as we do:
“New findings from a National Safety Council public opinion poll indicate 73% of respondents think there should be more enforcement of texting laws, while only 22% said the current level of enforcement is fine. When asked what type of penalties they’d like to see, 52% of poll participants chose penalties including a point system that could lead to the loss of a driver’s license or increased insurance costs, 51% were in favor of different levels of penalties for first vs. repeat offenses and half thought large monetary fines should be used. For years, there has been widespread opposition to texting behind the wheel. Polls like these show the public is behind stronger penalties as most people recognize that it will take more than awareness campaigns to stop this dangerous behavior. About 5% of crashes are estimated to involve texting while driving. However, talking on a cell phone, either hands-free or handheld, is estimated to be involved in 21% of crashes. Continue spreading the message that hands-free is not risk-free, so the public can understand the true dangers of the cell phone conversation as well.” Encouraging news indeed. The Humanity Project supports this effort to make our roads safer for all of us. We hope you’ll share the link to this blog with your friends and family … and add your voice to the growing call for laws that will help stop texting while driving.
