DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH
APRIL 2013
With the rising popularity of
smartphones, texting is becoming the preferred method of communication
for many of us. In fact, the average American sends or receives 40 texts
per day with those in the 18-24 age group texting more than 100 times a
day, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. And many of those
texts are either sent or received while behind the wheel of a moving
vehicle.
According to the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety, drivers are four times as likely to get
into a serious car crash when using a hand held device while driving.
In order to raise the awareness
of texting or talking on a handheld device while driving on our county
roadways the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, Somerset County
Association of Chiefs of Police, County Crime Stoppers of Somerset
County, Inc. and Somerset Medical Center and Emergency Medical
Associates are challenging all county residents and those who work in
Somerset County who possess a valid permit or driver’s license to “Take
The Pledge” not to text or talk on a handheld device while driving.
TAKE THE
PLEDGE TO PUT
IT DOWN
6,000 Americans die in car
accidents caused
by distracted
driving each year
Texting or talking on a cell
phone while
driving is as dangerous as
driving drunk
