Did you know that drivers who use hand-held devices are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves?  It has become a common occurrence to see others talking on their hand-held cell phone or checking their smartphone while driving. You may even do it yourself.  But there is more to Distracted Driving than just talking on a cell phone and texting.

What you need to know

Distraction occurs any time you take your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind off the task of driving. Any non-driving activity you engage in while behind the wheel is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing.

• An estimated 3,000 deaths each year can be attributed to distracted driving nationally.
• In Delaware, driver inattention, distraction, or fatigue contributed to:
  • 1,312 injury crashes and 5 fatal crashes in 2010; and
  • 1,264 injury crashes and 13 fatal crashes in 2011.

What you can do

OHS and Delaware Law Enforcement are teaming up to stop distracted drivers by collaborating on the enforcement and education campaign “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other”.  Last year, nearly 10,000 citations were written for violating the state’s hands free cell phone law.

• The law bans texting while driving, as well as bans the use of hand-held cell phones and the use of other mobile devices while driving.
• Drivers are required to use hands-free technology in order to use a cell phone while driving.

Since the average fine is over $100, it is best to turn off the phone and put it away until you have reached your destination.  If you need to make a call, pull off to a safe location.

Remember, if you have a cell phone in one hand, you may have a ticket in the other.

For more information about Delaware’s cell phone law, see www.ohs.delaware.gov/cellphone.  You can also find more information about distracted driving at www.distraction.gov .

Drive Safe.  Arrive Alive DE.

This message is brought to you by the Office of Highway Safety, who asks you to drive safely at all times.  For more information on this and other traffic safety programs, go to www.ohs.delaware.gov.

Dover, DE – The Delaware Office of Highway Safety has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and 42 law enforcement agencies across the State to eliminate handheld cell phone use and texting by motorists traveling on Delaware’s roadways.

Beginning November 7 through November 20, Delaware law enforcement will be out in force to make sure drivers keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.

“Reducing distracted driving improves safety for everyone who shares the road.  Just as we keep our focus as a state on creating more jobs, we want drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their focus on the road,” Governor Markell said.

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in behind the wheel that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving.

Nationally in 2010, 3,092 people were killed, and an estimated 416,000 others were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.

“Talking or texting on a cell phone while driving is one of the most dangerous actions you can take on our roadways. Last year, 147 crashes were due to distracted driving. Our new dedicated enforcement campaign, Phone in One Hand. Ticket in the Other. will offer a tough lesson to any driver caught paying attention to their phones instead of the road,” said Lewis D. Schiliro, Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security.

Law enforcement officers will show zero-tolerance for distracted driving.  If they see you talking on your cell phone or texting while driving, they will give you a ticket.

Because too many drivers still don’t get the message that using a cell phone while driving can be dangerous and deadly, this initial distracted driving crackdown marks the first of several enforcement waves taking place over the next year.

Sending or receiving a text message takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds — the equivalent of a driver driving blind for the length of an entire football field at 55-mph.

In a recent study, 40 percent of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger.

“These figures may seem like just statistics, but we know that even one life lost or one victim severely injured, is one too many,” said Colonel Robert M. Coupe, Delaware State Police. “More often than we would like, we bring the tragic news to families about the serious injury or death of a loved one that may have been prevented had someone not been driving distracted.”

That’s why Delaware drivers should know that law enforcement is stepping-up enforcement to save lives on Delaware roadways this November. Remember: Phone in One Hand. Ticket in the Other.

For more information on distracted driving, please visit www.distraction.gov/delaware.

To coinciding with grants, U.S. DOT also releases comprehensive blueprint for ending distracted driving nationwide

Dover-  U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today that the Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) will receive $900,000 in federal support to expand the Department’s “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other.” pilot enforcement campaign to reduce distracted driving.

“We thank Secretary LaHood for personally coming to Delaware to announce this grant.  We will use this money to implement a campaign to encourage motorists to put their cell phones down while driving,” said Delaware Governor Jack Markell.  “By raising awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, we help prevent needless crashes and keep Delaware’s roads safer.  Safer roads mean people get to jobs, schools, and businesses without delay and without injury.”

DOT is providing Delaware with a total of about $900,000 in federal support for a pilot program that will examine whether increased police enforcement coupled with paid media and news media coverage can significantly reduce distracted driving over a widespread area.

OHS is planning to use $300,000 for three 2 week waves of enforcement for the “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” campaign with the first wave to run September 18 to October 1, 2012 followed by April 9-22, 2013 and June 4-17, 2013 and will include statewide enforcement in all three counties and will include every police department in the state.  Another $400,000 will be allocated towards paid media that will accompany the enforcement efforts and $200,000 toward evaluation of the demonstration project.

“This dedicated enforcement effort coupled with public education and program evaluation illustrates the seriousness in which we view distracted driving. For those who still insist on texting and talking on their cell phone this grant will go a long way to allow them to also talk to one of Delaware’s finest,” said Lewis D. Schiliro, Secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

Delaware is one of only 2 states that have been selected to receive federal grants for “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” pilot project.  This multi-market effort will mirror the approach used in smaller-scale demonstration projects completed in 2011 in Hartford, CT, and Syracuse, NY.  The 2011 pilot projects found dramatic declines in distracted driving in the two communities tested—with texting dropping 72 percent in Hartford and 32 percent in Syracuse.

“We congratulate Delaware’s Office of Highway Safety and Secretary LaHood for bringing this important effort to our state,” says Jim Lardear, Director of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.  “AAA knows that it is simply not enough to just pass a law; good laws must go hand in hand with visible, committed enforcement and broad public awareness campaigns.  We continue to urge drivers to avoid all forms of distraction behind the wheel.”

Delaware law enforcement has issued over 10,000 cell phone citations since the cell phone law went into effect in Delaware on January 2, 2011.  In 2010, cell phone distraction was a contributing factor in 199 crashes and in 139 crashes in 2011. Through May of this year, cell phone distractions caused 47 crashes. Texting caused 26 crashes in 2010, 14 crashes in 2011 and 7 crashes through May of this year.

Delaware cell phone law bans texting while driving as well as bans the use of hand-held cell phones.  Drivers are required to utilize hands-free technology in order to use a cell phone while driving.   It also bans the use of pagers, blackberry’s, PDA’s, laptops, games, or the use of any other electronic device by someone while driving. If you have to make a call, pull over to a safe place to use your cell phone or use a hands free device like a blue tooth.

If a police officer observes you using a handheld device while driving they can pull you over and give you a $106 fine for your first offense.  If you get caught again penalties increase and can go up to $300.  Violations do not incur points on your driver’s license.

Some exceptions to the law include the activation or deactivation of hands free equipment because not all cell phones are voice activated. Thus, drivers may pick up the phone to dial, then put it down and use hands free equipment to communicate.  Another exception allows a person to use a hand held cell phone to call authorities to report a fire, road hazard, traffic crash, reckless driver or any other unsafe road conditions.  Also exempt are those business or government employees who use a 2-way radio that is mounted or attached to their vehicle to communicate with dispatch or other employees as a part of their official work duties.

For more information about the Office of Highway Safety and the ““Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” pilot project please visit us online at www.ohs.delaware.gov, follow us on Twitter @DEHighwaySafe, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE or subscribe to OHS YouTube channel DelawareOHS.