Maine Sheriffs Ask You To Be Mindful Of Distracted Driving This Month

April is an important month in the world of safety, as it brings attention to the problem of Distracted Driving.

According to the National Safety Council "More than 46,000 people died on the road last year. Every death is someone’s friend, child, co-worker – and every death is preventable...on a typical day, eight people are killed and hundreds more are injured in distraction-affected crashes."

Sit with that for a minute.

The National Highway Safety Transportation Administration defines distracted driving as "any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone...

...eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle...

...fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving."

It may be a quick glance down to you or to me, but behind the wheel of an automobile, that look could be deadly.

"Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed."

In order to bring attention to this problem, during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Penobscot County Sheriff's Department issued a message to the public through social media this week, pleading folks to think twice before allowing themselves to be a willing part of an accident that could have been avoided.

"With the crash rates directly related to distracted driving on the rise, the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office urges motorists to put your phones and other devices down while operating a motor vehicle. In a split second, you could destroy your future, injure someone, or even take a life. There is no text message or cell call worth dying for."

The program has adopted the motto of #JustDrive this year. There's a pledge you can take (parents, this would be a good thing to have your new drivers look at and sign) where you promise to drive distraction-free.

Please consider minimizing your distractions while driving. As they said, each person on the road is someone's grandpa, mother, sister, husband, daughter, etc. Let's take a step to make sure they get safely to their destination, by keeping our attention and focus on ours.