UHP to extend enforcement throughout Distracted Driving Consciousness Month

SALT LAKE CITY — Monday marked the beginning of Distracted Driving Consciousness Month.

The Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration states that distracted driving has turn out to be a lethal epidemic throughout the county, and Utah is not any exception.

In 2023, 21 folks have been killed because of distracted driving. In response to state information, of the 52 fatalities on Utah roads to date this 12 months, two have been attributable to distracted driving.

“Distracted driving is definitely underreported relating to the statistics and the numbers that we have a look at,” mentioned Utah Freeway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden.

In response to a survey of U.S. grownup drivers carried out by insurance coverage firm Nationwide, 43% of noncommercial drivers admit to consuming whereas behind the wheel and a stunning 30% admit to studying or responding to work texts.

Regardless of that, Roden mentioned distracted driving has elevated over the previous few years.

In response to Roden, distractions may be bodily, visible and even psychological. They will vary from consuming and ingesting to doing make-up to adjusting your radio or GPS. There are even distractions outdoors of the automobile.

However probably the most prevalent distraction is utilizing a cellphone to not solely name or textual content however to additionally test social media.

“A mean textual content takes about 5 seconds of your eyes off the roadway, and in that at 55 mph, in that 5 seconds, you are going to journey over the size of a soccer discipline blind,” Roden mentioned.

The Nationwide survey said that 92% of shopper drivers and 80% of business drivers admit that within the final 12 months that they’re their telephone extra typically whereas behind the wheel — this, thought of with one other discovering in the identical survey that discovered that 88% of shopper drivers and 78% of business drivers admit to driving quicker than they did a 12 months in the past, suggests a disturbing pattern of an increase in doubtlessly deadly driving behaviors.

Listed here are some suggestions from UHP to bear in mind: If you could ship a textual content, pull over or have a passenger ship the textual content for you.

Finally, “it is as much as the motive force to know what kind of distractions they’re most liable to,” Roden mentioned.

Apparently, the Nationwide survey discovered that 8 in 10 noncommercial drivers think about their driving to be “glorious,” however solely 14% of these drivers say that they’d prolong the identical reward to others.

Roden mentioned that from April 1 to April 14, UHP, together with 39 different companies throughout the state, will improve enforcement, working an additional 365 shifts to assist spot distracted driving.

Drivers ought to do not forget that demonstrating conduct on the street that’s seen as aggressive driving is grounds for being stopped and cited. Within the Nationwide survey, 90% of shopper drivers and 76% of business drivers admitted to driving extra aggressively than they did a 12 months in the past.

“We have tried to verify that is data-driven at areas the place we have seen issues with distracted driving. That is the place we place these shifts,” Roden mentioned.

He’s urging drivers to place away these distractions.

“Hopefully, we will change some behaviors by elevating consciousness in April, however hopefully, we are going to see it final year-round,” he mentioned.

For extra suggestions to bear in mind, go to nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving.

Contributing: Sky Mundell