The Dangers of Distracted Driving

That text or phone call can wait until you’re not behind the wheel of an Exchange vehicle or personal car or truck.

Since April is National Distracted Driving Month, the Exchange’s Loss Prevention Directorate warns that any activity that diverts your attention away from driving could make you crash and lead to severe injuries, even death.

What distracts a driver?

Nearly 3,200 people were killed and 431,000 injured in distracted-driving crashes in 2014.

Distraction include:

• Texting or using a cellphone or smartphone
• Eating and drinking
• Talking to passengers
• Dealing with children
• Grooming
• Reading, including maps
• Using a navigation system
• Watching a video
• Adjusting the radio, CD player or MP3 player

Dangerous five-second distraction

Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55 mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded.