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With some questionable health advice being posted by your friends on Facebook, politicians arguing about the state of the American healthcare system and a new medical study being summarized in just a sentence or two on TV---that seems to contradict the study you heard summarized yesterday---it can be overwhelming to navigate the ever-changing landscape of health news.

Distracted Driving

flickr user kelly bell photography (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

The National Safety Council reported that in 2017, vehicle fatalities topped 40,000 for the second consecutive year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states multiple factors contribute to traffic fatalities, but the risk of distracted driving, particularly due to technology, is growing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that each day in the United States, 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving.

While few question the negative effects of alcohol on driver performance, many drivers fail to recognize the extent that attention to technology impairs driver ability. Thus, it is much more prevalent. According to the CDC, 2% of drivers admitted to driving while under the influence in the last month.  In contrast, 69% of drivers admitted to using a cell phone while driving in the last month.

While state and federal laws are being established to try to prevent distracted driving, the best place to start is with yourself. The NSC encourages drivers to take the pledge to Just Drive for your own safety and for others with whom you share the roads.

Resources

http://www.nsc.org/learn/NSC-Initiatives/Pages/distracted-driving-awareness-month.aspx

https://www.gsa.gov/blog/2017/04/12/Distracted-Driving-Awareness-Month-Making-Safe-Driving-the-Top-Priority-This-Month-and-Every-Month

http://www.nsc.org/learn/NSC-Initiatives/Pages/Fatality-Estimates.aspx

https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/

https://forms.nsc.org/distracteddriving_pledge.aspx?utm_medium=(none)&utm_source=(direct)&utm_campaign=pledge&utm_medium=(none)&utm_source=(direct)&utm_campaign=pledge

Dr. Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs is an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Middle & Secondary Education. She writes for special publications of The Southeast Missourian and is a certified Community Health Worker.
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