Federated Insurance has a launched a distracted driving campaign with a series of radio messages along with billboards in the area.

In 2014 there were 3,179 traffic deaths and 431,000 injuries in traffic accidents involving distracted driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that 10 percent of traffic fatalities among 15-19-year-olds involved distracted driving.

Julie Rethemeier of Federated points out that there are four types of distracted driving:

  • Visionary, which is simply taking your eyes off the road to look at something.
  • Mechanical, which involves eating or doing something while driving.
  • Cognitive, which involves getting behind the wheel after a bad day and your concentration is not on your driving.
  • The fourth one is a combination of the previous three.

Taking your eyes off the road for 5 seconds is about the same as putting on a blindfold and driving at 55 mph the length of a football field.

Some things you can do to cut down on distracted driving include:

  • Entering your GPS information before getting behind the wheel
  • Store loose gear
  • Make sure your pets are secure
  • Pull over if you need to check on the kids

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