FocusDriven Targets Dangers of Distracted Driving
In January, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and National Safety Council President Janet Froetscher announced the creation of FocusDriven, the first national nonprofit organization devoted specifically to raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.
FocusDriven is the result of the 2009 Distracted Driving Summit. There, several family members of distracted driving victims came together, met each other, shared their stories, and joined forces to turn these tragic events into positive actions that will help save lives.
Judy Teater of Spring Lake, Michigan, was one of those family members and serves as treasurer of the group. Teater lost her seventh grade son, Joe, when a 20-year-old woman, driving a Hummer while talking on her cell-phone, ran a red light and slammed into the passenger side of their car. The driver passed four cars and a school bus that had all stopped at the red light. She never applied her brakes, and witnesses reported seeing her talking on her cell phone and looking straight out the front window.
Modeled after Mothers Against Drunk Driving, FocusDriven hopes to change the way Americans view distracted driving with advocates who have experienced the terrible consequences of that practice firsthand.
What You Can Do
The Office of Highway Safety Planning has two posters available for prosecutor offices and law enforcement agencies to help alert motorists of the dangers of texting while driving. To order, email trafficsafety@michigan.gov or call (517) 333-2722.
For more information about preventing distracted driving,visit www.distraction.gov, www.nsc.org, and www.focusdriven.org.
