April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Kansas Department of Transportation reminds drivers to stay focused, ditch the distractions and just drive.
Distractions come in many forms. Visual distractions take the driver’s eyes off the road, cognitive distractions take the driver’s mind off driving and manual distractions take the driver’s hands off the wheel. Distracted driving can be dangerous. Prel iminary 2024 Kansas data shows that 70 people were killed and more than 350 people were injured in crashes involving distracted driving. “Distractions affect your ability to focus on driving,” said KDOT Behavioral Safety Manager Gary Herman. “Activities such as such as eating, applying makeup, reaching for objects, looking at scenery, daydreaming and quite often, texting, take your attention off the road and put the lives of other motorists, your passengers and you at risk for injury or death.”
Drivers are encouraged to develop safe driving habits and always:
•Put the phone away and out of reach
•Activate the phone’s “Do Not Disturb” feature
•Have passengers han-dle navigation, texting or phone calls
•Pull over to a safe location off of the roadway to make a call, adjust the radio or do other things that take your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road Don't text or call someone you know is driving, it can wait Passengers are encouraged to speak up if the driver is not paying attention and to avoid riding with that driver in the future. It's important everyone takes charge of their safety whenever possible, Herman said.
