Stop distracted driving this February

 

By Reed Clements

 

The Alberta RCMP has declared February to be Distracted Driving Awareness Month, in hopes of reducing distracted driving and the dangers it poses.

 

In the past year alone, the Integrated Traffic Units issued over 6,000 tickets for distracted driving in Alberta. That number represents about one in 500 drivers, and while that might not sound like much, drivers who gets tickets are only a fraction of the total drivers who drive distracted.

 

Think about it: if you have ever used a cellphone or another electronic device while driving, you have been a distracted driver. It doesn’t stop with cellphones—even adjusting the temperature in your car takes your attention off the road, and can be dangerous.

 

Distracted driving is responsible for 20 to 30 percent of all collisions, and distracted drivers are about three times more likely than attentive drivers to be in a collision themselves. When you let your attention falter, you triple the risk to you and your passengers.

 

In fact, being distracted counts as a form of impairment—a distracted driver can be just as impaired, and just as dangerous, as a drunk driver in some circumstances. Whether you are distracted or drunk, your reaction time is slower, and you are less likely to notice a hazard on the road.

 

To avoid a $287 fine and three demerit points, not to mention danger to you and your passengers, you should make sure to take care of everything you can before you start driving. Set your car’s temperature and your GPS unit while parked, and make sure there are no unsecured objects that you might have to reach for while driving. If you need to change anything in your car, pullover and park first.

 

We drive so often that it is easy to get used to feeling safe. The truth is that we’re not, but we can be, with a little attention.