5 seconds, 100 yards

Florida drivers can now be ticketed for texting while driving, a habit that is attributed to thousands of deaths on the road each year. The law, which made texting while driving a primary offense, took effect in July 2019, but law enforcement only started issuing citations to offenders on January 1, 2020.

Close your eyes and imagine 44 school buses packed with children and adults. The people are all different ages and come from different backgrounds, but one thing bonds them: the number of people on those buses represents the number of people killed by distracted driving in 2017.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration puts the 2017 death toll at 3,166.

“There are so many times I drive by cars and you see both people, the passenger and the driver, with their phones out,” said Jessica Winberry, health educator for THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. “You really can’t multitask. So even though you think you can do three things at once, your brain really can’t do that.”

Cynthia Dennis, RN, Injury Prevention and Safe Kids Northeast Florida coordinator at THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health, said cell phones can be addictive, especially for teens. It can be difficult for them to mute the compulsion to check a message when behind the wheel.

“And then, all of the sudden, the traffic stops,” said Dennis. “If you’re getting off an exit and you just glance down, you could end up hitting or nearly hitting the car in front of you.”

The CDC breaks down the toll of distracted driving further, noting that each day in the United States, approximately nine people are killed and more than 1,000 are injured in crashes with a reported distracted driver.

“Anytime you’re taking that risk, you’re not only putting yourself at risk. You’re putting your friends who are riding with you at risk and then anybody else who’s around you who’s just an innocent bystander,” Winberry said.

The generation of new drivers and soon-to-be drivers has grown up with cell phones in hand, so Winberry and Dennis say it’s critical for parents to be proactive now. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a good time for parents to try the following tips from Safe Kids Worldwide:

• Set a good example for your children by refraining from texting while driving, yourself. Try putting your phone in the back seat or somewhere else out of reach so you won’t be tempted to grab it.
• Resist the urge to call or text your children when you know they will be driving. It’s natural to want to check in, but wait until enough time has passed for them to get to their destination or set a designated time for them to call you.
• Set ground rules for your children when they start to drive. You may even consider a contract or other agreement in which the kids vow not to use their phone while driving.
• Brainstorm ways your child feels comfortable addressing their friends if they see them texting while driving. Offering a simple “Do you want me to check that for you?” could avert disaster.
• Encourage seat belt use. This protects your child and others in the car; an unrestrained person can injure others during a crash.

THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health at Wolfson Children’s Hospital promotes safe and healthy childhoods for all kids, offering a wide range of advocacy programs from injury prevention to access to health care.

Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Safe Kids Worldwide.