The hot topic on the minds of transportation officials all across the country over the past few weeks has been the problem of distracted driving. With more and more states beginning to examine the possibility of proposing texting/emailing bans or complete cell phone bans, driver distraction has been pushed to the front of the transportation safety agenda.

It should be no surprise that the problem of driver distractions has been growing as multi-tasking has become a part of most people’s daily lives. It seems everyone today has more demands on their time so many people try to cut corners by multi-tasking while driving, which is dangerous to yourself, your passengers and other road users. Distracted driving is a factor in more than 1 million crashes in North America annually, resulting in serious injuries, death and an economic impact of nearly $40 billion each year.

The most disappointing and disturbing part of this debate is that many drivers know the risks of distraction but continue to engage in distractive behavior anyway! In fact, the AAA Foundation’s 2009 Traffic Safety Culture Index found 80 percent of drivers agree that distracted driving is a serious threat to their safety. However, 67 percent of respondents also admitted to talking to cell phone while driving in the past month, including 28 percent who admitted doing so fairly often or regularly. This “Do as I say, Not as I do” attitude is representative of our current safety culture. Despite knowing about the dangers, too many are still unwilling to take that extra step and change their behaviors.

There is no greater evidence of the growing attention being given the distraction issue than the upcoming Distracted Driving Summit being hosted in Washington, DC by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The summit, to be held on Sept 30th-Oct 1st, will bring together senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates and law enforcement to discuss the problem of driver distraction and how it can be addressed. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety will be involved with these proceedings as Foundation Senior Manager Kristin Backstrom will serve as a panelist during one of the sessions.

To build upon the momentum being created by the summit, the Foundation will be calling for all drivers to become a distraction-free driver during Heads Up Driving Week beginning October 5th. During that week the Foundation hopes to remind drivers of the risks from all types of distracting behaviors and to encourage them to drive distraction free. Help spread the message about the dangers of distracted driving and keep your Heads Up from October 5th-11th. 

Please – try it for a week – do it for life.

Very truly yours,

J. Peter Kissinger
President and CEO
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety