Page 6 - Edwards AFB Desert Wings 7-24-15

Desert Wings July 24, 2015

6 www.aerotechnews.com/edwardsafb facebook.com/EdwardsDesertWings

Driving distracted rivals alcohol, speeding in crashes

by Capt. Shanna Vaughan in 2013, 3,154 people were killed in motor and cognitive distraction simultaneously. Ac- Staff Sgt. Kristen Shott, 412th Security
Forces Squadron Commander’s Support
412th Medical Support Squadron vehicle accidents involving distracted driv- cording to NHTSA, sending or reading a text Staff NCOIC, explains while behind the
wheel “it is unauthorized to talk or text on a
ers. takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. cell phone on a military installation.”
One area that remains a large safety con- This is a decrease in the number of deaths At 55 mph, that’s the equivalent of driving the
Therefore, security forces at Edwards are
cern is unsafe and distracted driving. related to distracted driving from 2012. Dis- length of an entire football field blindfolded. allowed to pull drivers over for talking or
texting on a cell phone. If you are active duty
What is distracted driving? traction.gov figures that drivers in their 20s The Department of Transportation has and get pulled over on base, three points will
be placed on your base record and you will
According to www.Distraction.gov, dis- make up 27 percent of the distracted drivers been working hard for the past several years be required to report it to your chain of com-
mand. If you gain 12 points in one year or 18
tracted driving is any activity that could in fatal accidents. Engaging in visual-manual to end the outbreak of distracted driving. points in 2 years, your driving privileges will
be suspended for 12 months.
divert a person’s attention away from the subtasks, such as reaching for the phone, dial- Here in California, texting and talking on a
“This is a hot topic because it is a trend
primary task of driving. All distractions ing and texting, elevates the risk of a collision hand-held cell phone while driving is against that is occurring more and more frequently,”
added Shott.
endanger the driver, other drivers, passen- by three times. Texting is the most alarming the law. The DOT points out that the Cali-
There are also fines for driving on Cali-
gers and bystanders. These distractions in- distraction because it involves manual, visual fornia Highway Patrol and more than 200 fornia roads while using a cell phone. First
offense for cell phone and text messaging is
clude texting, using a cell phone, local law enforce- a $20 fine and other convictions thereafter
are $50.
eating and drinking, talking to ment agencies will
According to the Uniform Bail and Penalty
passengers, grooming, reading continue to crack Schedule, with court costs and penalties, the
true costs of these tickets are $76 to $190
(including maps), using a navi- down on driv- respectively. The California Highway Patrol
has a “zero tolerance” policy on distracted
gation system, watching a video ers who text and driving.

or adjusting a radio, CD or MP3 talk on their cell Distracted driving is clearly an important
subject because of the danger it poses to you
player. phones behind the and others and the potential legal conse-
quences. Please take a moment before you
Cell phone-related distracted wheel. Is this law begin your drive and think about what is
distracting you.
driving is on the rise in the United working? Since the

States, joining alcohol and speed- law went into ef-

ing as a leading factor in fatal and fect just four years

serious injury crashes. According ago road fatalities

to The National Safety Council, have fallen 22 per-

cell phone-related crashes have cent. According to

increased for the third consecu- Distraction.gov,

tive year and are involved in 27 45 states currently

percent of all car crashes. The ban text messaging

National Safety Council also es- for all drivers and

timates texting-related crashes 14 states prohibit

increased from 5 to 6 percent in drivers of all ages

2014. from using hand-

The National Highway Traffic Air Force photograph by Melissa Buchanan held cell phones

Safety Administration reports that Distracted driving can be deadly. while driving.