As we kick off April and subsequently Distracted Driving Awareness Month, we at SambaSafety are dedicated each and every day to reducing and one day eliminating entirely distracted driving. The world over the past year has proven unpredictable and has made clear the importance of controlling things in your life whether in times of uncertainty or steadiness.

What Causes Distracted Driving?

There are three categories of distracted driving. These include:

  • Visual – when you take your eyes off the road
  • Manual – when you take your hands off the wheel
  • Cognitive – when you take your mind off of driving

Simply put, distracted driving incidents are avoidable, but commonplace activities like rubbernecking or turning on your favorite song of the moment can put you, and those around you on the roadways, in near-immediate jeopardy. Don’t take our word for it though. In our home state of Colorado, it’s clearer than ever to see that distracted driving is a prevalent and persistent issue.

 

Colorado’s Distracted Driving Problem

According to 9news.com, a survey conducted by the Colorado Department Transportation (CDOT) showed that distracted drivers in the state are responsible for 42 crashes a day, totaling to a whopping 15,000 a year. Part of the cause? Increased travel as we inch toward normalcy not felt since pre-pandemic times.

According to CDOT, distracted driving crashes are on the rise, up from 13,223 (2012) to 15,143 (2019). The increase in distracted driving crashes also comes from an increased willingness to engage in the behavior. CDOT reported that 92 percent of surveyed Colorado drivers admit to driving while distracted at least once a week.

What This Means

Remain vigilant on the roadways and keep your attention where it should be – on the task (in this case, driving) at hand. Understand that distracted driving and the consequences of irresponsible behavior can be result of reckless decisions behind the wheel. Know that you can actively prevent distracted driving whenever you get behind the wheel.

Tools including our own continuous driver monitoring are so integral in helping companies prevent distracted driving incidents. Continuous driver monitoring tells you who should be behind the wheel instead of what they’re doing behind the wheel when in the car. This means you can feel more prepared and ready to combat distracted driving within your organization, working alongside us as we work toward our goal of reducing roadway crashes 20 percent by the year 2025. After all, when you know and trust who is behind the wheel on behalf of your company, you can rest easier.

Follow-us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, join the conversation around why you #JustDrive this Distracted Driving Awareness Month and keep up with our latest content.

To learn how you can keep your employees, community and company safer, download our white paper, Distracted Driving – A Preventable Problem.