In Ontario, deaths from collisions caused by distracted driving have doubled since 2000. One person is injured in a distracted-driving collision every half hour.
During its first #Every30minutes distracted driving media campaign, Safe Communities Wellington County wants the residents of the county to start talking about the dangers of distracted driving and what they can do to prevent these injuries and collisions from happening.
Starting May 8 and running until June 17, SCWC will remain active on social media platforms and are asking residents to like, share, repost and retweet their content.
Key messages in the campaign include:
– every 30 minutes a person is injured by a distracted driver on our roads. That one person could be your mother, your father, your sister, your brother. One injury or fatality is too much;
– texting is like driving blindfolded. Research shows that texting behind the wheel is equivalent to driving with your eyes closed for almost five seconds. You will drive the length of a football field if you are going 60km/h. Reduce the temptation of texting by keeping your phone out of reach. It could save your life;
– a driver using a phone is four times more likely to crash than a driver focusing on the road. If a driver is, actually, writing a text, he/she is 23 times more likely to crash than a driver focusing on the road.
