New Year’s Resolution #1: Put the X in InTXTicated

By Richard Birt, Ohio SADD director

Let’s all make a New Year’s resolution not to text while driving. Even though Ohio teens know it’s dangerous, many of them do it anyway. Ohio SADD calls this “InTXTication” and invites you to join our effort to prevent teens from taking this deadly risk.   

 

An online survey of drivers ages 16 - 19 found that 86% had driven while distracted even though 84% know it’s dangerous.  (2010, AAA and Seventeen Magazine)

 

Don’t lie to yourself.  There is NO WAY you can safely text and drive at the same time.  You’re putting yourself at risk – as well as your passengers and other people using the road with you.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association published a list of grim facts about texting and driving at www.stoptextsstopwrecks.org/#facts.  If you don’t want to hit the link, here are few of the facts that should get you to park your phone while driving:

FACT: The under-20 age group has the greatest proportion of distracted drivers.

Distracted driving caused 16% of fatal crashes in this age group.

FACT: A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting

driver.

FACT:  In the five seconds your eyes are off the road when texting and driving at 55

mph, your car covers the length of a football field.

If you’re a teen or care about a teen driver, get smart. Better yet, join Ohio SADD and help spread the word that texting while driving causes crashes and ruins lives and teen drivers are especially dangerous.

Joining OhioSADD is free and we provide information you can use – just check out our new poster (link) and website (link) for programs, materials and ideas you can use at your school or in your neighborhood. New Ohio SADD members can also get skull t-shirt (while supplies last).  Just send me an email to get started rbirt@sadd.org.

Don’t forget! Register now to attend the Ohio SADD Columbus Prevention Convention

Ohio SADD will host an exciting day of workshops and speakers from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm on Friday, April 12, 2013 at Nationwide Arena. This is a great opportunity for students to get training in traffic safety campaigns and materials. Schools can register by sending me an email at rbirt@sadd.org.

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