Do you Focus on the Road? Insight into Lommen Abdo’s First Ever Public Service Campaign
10/28/2009
by Kate Westad, Attorney at Lommen Abdo
When The New York Times started a series of articles this summer entitled "Driven to Distraction," my attention was riveted. While I knew texting and driving was a lethal combination, I was still stunned to see that a recent study had found that texting while driving raises your crash risk by 23 times! This is news we need to take to heart, especially when a recent study continues to confirm that a majority of teenagers think its okay to text and drive. Not only is the NY Times series well thought out, it was on the exact topic of Lommen Abdo's public service campaign: Focus on the Road®.
In March of 2009 Lommen Abdo launched Focus on the Road - a public service campaign of traffic road safety. As a personal injury attorney, I hear tragic stories of people who have been seriously injured or killed in automobile collisions. I created this campaign to draw attention to distraction driving and to remind us all to Focus on the Road!
While the cell phone driving ban debate continues and legislation is beginning to crop up on these issues, each and every individual driver can make efforts to remind ourselves, our community, our family and our friends that distraction driving can be prevented. For example, did you know that texting, emailing or otherwise accessing the internet – even at a red light –
is illegal in Minnesota? And more legislation may be coming. In late September 2009, senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics convened in Washington, D.C., for a first-ever Distracted Driving Summit to address the dangers of text-messaging and other distractions behind the wheel.
Scare tactics are another measure used to reign in the texting and driving epidemic. For example, you may have seen a graphic and bloody public service announcement recently issued by a Welsh police department. The short clip depicts a very life-like crash caused by teenagers texting and driving. At last count, the clip has been viewed more than seven million times on YouTube and
other sites. But
serious doubts have surfaced that scare tactics or the current laws will have any effect on people who text and drive.
Help your family and friends understand that – not unlike drinking and driving – distraction driving is not acceptable. The Focus on the Road website has been developed to provide you with tools and information on distraction driving.
NEW! Focus on the Road is now on
Facebook! Become a fan and receive updates on safe driving articles, information and events.
HELP SPREAD THE WORD! Focus on the Road would like to travel to schools or organizations to let teens know the dangers and risks of texting while driving. If you would like to have Focus on the Road talk to your kids or community, contact Kate Westad.
What you will find on the
Focus on the Road website:
- information and statistics showing the deadly link between distraction driving and car crashes;
- news stories of texting while driving;
- safety driving tips for talking to your teens about texting and driving;
- links to teen driving contracts and local teen driving clinics.
If you have questions about texting while driving or any of the issues or articles discussed above, contact
Kate Westad at 612-336-9322 or
kate@lommen.com.