April is “Distracted Driving Awareness” Month in an attempt to drive down the incidences of accidents, injuries, and deaths associated with distracted driving. In 2014, Oregon Department of Transportation started to team up with NHTSA in supporting the National Distracted Driving campaign.
Many people believe that distracted driving is texting on a cell phone while driving, which is a common misconception. Distracted driving is doing anything that causes the driver to become less aware of what they are doing while driving. This could involve any of the following:
- Talking on a cell phone (even with a hands-free device)
- Texting
- Eating
- Grooming
- Talking to a passenger