Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Discourages Distracted Driving

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is warning drivers to abstain from texting and driving in honor of April being Distracted Driving Awareness month.

Harris Blackwood, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said that distracted driving is causing more accidents that lead to injury.

“We’re seeing more and more crashes that are symptomatic of distracted driving,” said Blackwood. “Many of those crashes are resulting in serious injury and fatalities. If people would just focus on that task of driving, we’d be a lot better off.”

The Office of Highway Safety defines distracted driving as activities that take a driver’s focus away from the road. That includes eating, drinking, adjusting the radio, grooming and using cell phones.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the number of distracted driving crashes in Georgia has risen by 400 percent in the last decade.

“What we see are crashes where there are lane departures crossing the center line, a car being rear ended, and those are all symptomatic of texting,” said Blackwood. “We’ve seen a lot of those fatalities have been single vehicle crashes where somebody crashes into a fixed object. And the reason that’s happening is because their mind and their eyes are not on the road.’

In Georgia, it is against the law to text, email or post on social media while driving. Blackwood said that distracted driving is unacceptable.

“Until we embrace the idea that distracted driving is an unacceptable behavior, things are not going to get better,” said Blackwood. “We want people to go and enjoy their drive wherever it is, but we want them to come back safely. Unfortunately, in all too many instances, that’s not happening because people are focused on something else besides being behind the wheel of that car.”

For more information about the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, visit www.gahighwaysafety.org.