Don’t distract the driver

It may seem harmless to peek down at our screens, but too often these momentary lapses in focus can cause permanent damage.

We’ve all done it. We let a ring, a beep or an alert from our phone distract us from the task at hand when we’re driving.

It may seem harmless to peek down at our screens, but too often these momentary lapses in focus can cause permanent damage. The fatal crash involving a distracted driver and a pedestrian last month on the University of Arkansas campus reminded us all just how devastating the consequence can be.

Distracted driving claimed 3,450 lives on American highways in 2016, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These deaths are completely needless. They’re 100 percent preventable. And in Northwest Arkansas, citizens and authorities are trying to keep phones from leading to accidents.

Arkansas law prohibits you from texting and using social media while driving and has some age-dependent regulations for talking and driving. Drivers under 18 may not use a cellular device in any way while driving. Drivers 18-21 may talk on the phone only when using a hands-free setting. Drivers 21 and older may hold a phone to talk while driving. Arkansas State Police also participate in the national awareness campaign to stop distracted driving “U Drive - U Text - U Pay”. Fines for texting and driving start at a stiff $250.

Local organizations are also doing their best to keep Arkansans’ eyes on the road. Bike NWA promotes the Travel with Care campaign, which humanizes cyclists and pedestrians. And Crosswalk Safety Awareness Day (yes with those distinctive yellow and red signs) helps bring a straight forward message to drivers.

Popular media and mini-documentaries such as Werner Herzog’s From One Second to the Next feature heart-wrenching accounts from victims, perpetrators and first responders of the most horrific crashes involving texting drivers.

People are getting the message.

The federal government has found that distracted driving because of texting has fallen slightly in recent years.

Speaking as a bike commuter and avid walker, distracted driving is near to my heart. I share the road with drivers each day knowing well that some of them are glancing down at their phones. I still ride my bike as my primary mode of transportation and take walks with my family most evenings.

I bike and walk, not only because I love to, but because I know that the health benefits of getting out and moving my body far outweigh the potential risks from inattentive drivers. Ultimately, high blood pressure is much more likely to get me than a texting teen. But still, I take precautions. When I’m on my bike I make sure I am visible by wearing bright colors and using lights after sunset, I obey the rules of the road riding predictable, and I always wear a helmet.

When I’m walking, I make sure I to keep my eyes and ears open for cars (i.e. not wearing earbuds or being distracted myself) and look twice and try to make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street.

Texts come and go. Most people send and receive thousands every year, yet not one of them could be more important than what can appear in view through the windshield. So please, please, please keep your hands on the wheel, and let’s all get there safely.