April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic on Florida roadways. Not surprisingly, cell phone use, including texting, talking, or scrolling through social media, remains the most popular distraction. Texting is considered the most dangerous type of distracted driving because it combines visual, manual and
cognitive distraction.

But there are others. These include: eating and drinking, applying make-up, adjusting the radio or GPS, reading, daydreaming, watching roadside diversions and events outside the vehicle, tending to children in the back seat, etc. Essentially, anything that takes your focus off driving. Engaging in any of these activities while behind the wheel can cause you to lose valuable seconds that you may need to avoid a deadly crash.

During a portion of Distracted Driving Awareness Month (April 7 through 14), you may see increased law enforcement on the roadways as part of the national paid media campaign Put the Phone Away or Pay. This campaign reminds drivers of the deadly dangers and the legal consequences – including fines – of texting behind the wheel.

In 2022, distracted driving killed 3,308 people. According to preliminary data from the FLHSMV crash dashboard, Miami-Dade County has experienced 42,022 car crashes as of September 17, 2022.

Out of those collisions:

● 579 crashes involved a bicycle, causing 15 bicycle fatalities
● 823 crashes involved a motorcycle, causing 33 motorcycle fatalities
● 1,195 crashes involved a pedestrian, causing 63 pedestrian fatalities
● 14,550 crashes were hit-and-run collisions, causing 19 fatalities

The most dangerous time to drive was around 9 p.m., according to the Traffic Safety Dashboard (TSD). The next most dangerous time to drive was the afternoon rush hour, between 4pm and 6pm. In many large cities, weekdays have more accidents than weekends, but not in Miami. The most dangerous day to drive is Saturday, according to the TSD. But keep in mind that Saturday starts at midnight. Many of these accidents happen between Friday night and Saturday morning.

According to the TSD, the summer months have the most traffic crashes. Almost 28% of Miami’s traffic accidents happen in June and August. January and February had the fewest traffic accidents, with only about 14% of Miami’s accidents.

Need to send a text? Pull over and park your car in a safe location. If you are struggling to not text and drive, store your phone in the glovebox or in the back seat, where it is out of reach. Designating a responsible passenger in the vehicle to respond to your messages is another way to avoid texting and driving.