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City of Vancouver, Washington

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Safety and Crime Prevention - Driver Safety

Dangers of Distracted Drivers

With kids heading back to school, some startling statistics are coming out of a study conducted by Safe Kids USA. The research shows that one out of every six drivers in school zones is distracted by the use of cell phones, eating, drinking, smoking, reaching behind, grooming and reading. The study also found that unbelted drivers are 34 percent more likely to be distracted than belted drivers, afternoon drivers are 22 percent more likely to be distracted than morning drivers, and females are 21 percent more likely to be distracted than males.

Safe Kids Clark County was one of 20 coalitions that participated in this national study, making over 4,000 observations near Shahala Middle School in Vancouver, Washington. The findings were similar to the national results with the leading causes being cell phones while driving at a 7% rate. Afternoon drivers were more likely to be distracted than morning and females were 15% more distracted than males. Although Vancouver had close to 100% compliance with their seat belt law, cell phone use was the leading cause of distracted driving (7%), despite the Washington hands free cell phone law and anti-texting law; followed by reaching around or looking behind at almost 6% and eating, drinking or smoking at 5%.

The study, "Characteristics of Distracted Drivers in School Zones: A National Report," consisted of more than 40,000 observational road-side surveys conducted by local Safe Kids researchers in 20 locations across the United States. Use of electronics (such as cell phones, PDAs and Smartphones) was the leading category of distraction while driving at 9.8 percent. This is a 2.5 percent increase over a 2008 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey that showed a rate of 7.3 percent.

"The public expects drivers to be on their best behavior when they are near schools, however the new study shows the opposite is true when it comes to distracted driving," said Doris Girt, Safe Kids Clark County coordinator. "With recent research demonstrating that the driving skills of a distracted driver are as bad as or worse than an intoxicated driver, the overall relevance of this study is clear. Almost one in six drivers in a school zone behaves like a drunk driver."

The national finding that afternoon drivers are 22 percent more likely to be distracted is significant because throughout the year one in three child pedestrian deaths occur between 3 and 7 p.m., making afternoons the most dangerous time for children to walk. Drivers who were not wearing a seat belt were the most likely group in the study to also be driving distracted, meaning drivers engaging in one risky behavior are more likely to engage in multiple unsafe driving behaviors.

While the debate over laws governing hand-held electronic device use while driving continues, simply having a law on the books may somewhat decrease the prevalence of distracted driving. The study, which covered communities in 15 states showed that those states with laws regulating cell phone or hand-held electronic device use in a vehicle were 13 percent less likely to have distracted drivers in school zones. Washington State has a law that hand held cell phone use is prohibited while driving. All the drivers that were in the survey were using hand-held devices. One person was using a computer held in their lap.

"Multitasking while driving can have deadly consequences," said Doris Girt "Drivers need to shut off their phones and pay attention to the road, especially in areas that are filled with children."

Safe Kids Walk This Way, a grassroots pedestrian safety initiative in more than 600 schools nationwide, is made possible through support from program sponsor FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX). Through this year-round program, children learn safe pedestrian behaviors; school communities identify the pedestrian hazards surrounding their schools; and school pedestrian safety committees and task forces lead efforts to educate pedestrians and drivers about safe behaviors, enforce traffic laws and improve environments for child pedestrians. The study on distracted drivers in school zones was made possible through a grant from FedEx.

For more information about the new report on distracted drivers, tips for drivers and pedestrians or background on the Walk This Way program, call 202-662-0600 or visit http://www.usa.safekids.org/wtw/

No Texting While Driving!

Washington State has two cell-phone related driving laws that began in 2008. The first one was took effect on January 1st, 2008 with an update on June 10, 2010 making it a primary offence (meaning a police officer can pull a driver over if they see them texting and driving).This law bans text messaging and makes it a traffic infraction. This is not a hands-free ordinance, but a complete ban on text messaging.  

Hands Off the Cell Phone While Driving

The other new Washington State driving law that went into effect in 2008 was the hands-free law with an update to the law on June 10, 2010 making it a primary offense (meaning that a police officer can pull a driver over if they see them talking on the phone without a hands-free device). This hands-free cell-phone law prohibits the use of a wireless device such as a cell-phone being held to your ear while you are driving. The safest method is not to be on the phone at all while driving but drivers who must use the phone shoud use a hands free device such as a bluetooth headset or wired headset while driving.

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