(Dover, Ohio) – In an effort to make our roads safer, Safe Communities and the Tuscarawas County Health Department announced that it has joined the “One Text or Call Could Wreck It All” campaign to stop distracted driving.
Safe Communities and the Tuscarawas County Health Department have pledged their support to help spread the message that distracted drivers are not only a danger to themselves but everyone else on the road. And so, the agencies are joining the “One Text or Call Could Wreck It All” awareness campaign.
“We all know that talking on our cell phones while driving is distracting, but that doesn’t stop most people from continuing to do it,” said Kelly Snyder, Safe Communities Coordinator. “This effort is intended to educate our community about the dangers of cell phone use and other distractions while driving. We hope that once people see the statistics and realize the danger involved, they will change their driving habits to help protect themselves, their families, and others on the road.”
In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver. That same year, eleven percent of fatal crashes were reported as distraction-affected crashes. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, in 2020 distracted driving was a variable in 111 crashes in Tuscarawas County.
While anything that takes your eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, or minds off the task of driving is a hazard, there is heightened concern about the risks of texting while driving because it combines all three types of distraction – visual, manual, and cognitive.
The national distracted driving effort focuses on ways to change the behavior of drivers through legislation, enforcement, public awareness, and education – the same activities that have curbed drunk driving and increased seat belt use.
In honor of April’s National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Safe Communities website will feature additional distracted driving resources for parents, teens, employers, and drivers of all ages. To access these resources and to learn more about the Safe Communities Coalition, please visit the Safe Communities website @ www.tchdnow.org/safe-communities.html.
“Every driver in Tuscarawas County has a role in this effort,” said Snyder. “However, we especially want to reach out to parents with teen drivers because we know that statistically, the under-20 age group had the highest proportion of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes.”
Safe Communities and the Tuscarawas County Health Department’s goal with this campaign is simple – save lives by getting drivers to remember that “One Text or Call Could Wreck It All.”
For more information about distracted driving, please visit www.distraction.gov.
