Over the past decade, distracted driving has become one of the leading causes of vehicle crashes on our nation’s roads.
Researchers at the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, a non-profit representing all 50 state highway safety offices are concerned that increasingly distracted drivers are leading to more pedestrian-involved collisions.
Sending or receiving an average text takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of driving blindfolded at 55-mph for the length of an entire football field. Those few seconds of distracted driving could result in hitting a pedestrian in front of you.
Pedestrian distraction is also a real problem; the effects can be detected in crash data, naturalistic behavioral observations, virtual environment simulator studies, and the laboratory. Distraction changes the way pedestrians walk, react, and behave, including safety-related behaviors. Visit www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/pedestrian-safety to learn more tips and to get information about pedestrian safety.
