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Dot Declares April To Be Distracted Driving Awareness Month

There’s no doubt that cellphones have changed the way we communicate. Cellphones allow us to constantly stay in contact with family members, friends and business associates. But cellphones can also pose a great threat when they are used at the wrong times, particularly when driving.

In effort to raise awareness on the hazard distracted driving creates, the U.S. Department of Transportation has declared April to be Distracted Driving Awareness Month across the nation. The slogan for this year’s campaign against distracted driving is: One Text or Call could Wreck it All.

As part of the campaign, the DOT is also recognizing the many states that have passed legislation against cellphone usage while driving. Pennsylvania became one of these states on March 8, when texting while driving was made a primary offense.

Under the law, law enforcement officers have the ability to pull over drivers for the sole reason of texting while behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. After being issued a ticket for the offense, those who plead or are found guilty will be fined $50.

It is too early to tell if the texting while driving ban has had an effect in Pennsylvania, but data from other states that adopted similar legislation appears to show that the laws work as intended.

For example, California has seen a 22 percent drop in fatalities since making texting and talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving against the law two years ago, the DOT reported. Hopefully, Pennsylvania’s new law will have a similar effect and many lives will be spared.

Source: U.S. Dept of Transportation, “April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month,” April 3, 2012