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DISTRACTED DRIVERS CAUSE UP TO 50% OF HIGHWAY ACCIDENTS

28 June 2000

	Washington, D.C. - With lapses in driver attention playing a role in as 
many as half of all highway accidents, and the Fourth of July Holiday weekend 
fast approaching, leading employers are joining together to launch a 
first-of-its kind effort to combat distracted driving.

	A new survey showing 85 percent of drivers admit to having engaged in
distracted driving during the past year amplifies the need for this
campaign.  “Too often, the tragic consequence of distracted driving is
showing up in emergency room and at burial services,”  said Susan Herbel,
Executive Director of the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS),
which is a broad-based coalition of large employers dedicated to highway
safety.

	“Safe driving requires the concentrated focus of both mind and body.  We’re
launching this campaign to make certain our employees are fully engage in
the driving task,” said Aubrey Holmes of UPS.

Driver surveys indicate the most common distractions are:

·	Talking on the phone.
·	Eating.
·	Conversing with other passengers.
·	Reading and Writing.
·	Personal grooming.
·	Tuning a radio.
·	Trying to control kids or animals.

    While taking one’s eyes of the road or hands off the steering wheel 
presents obvious risks, research indicates that activities that take a driver’s
intellectual focus away from driving are just as important.

    Driver inattention is estimated to be a factor in between 25 and 50 percent
of highway collisions.  With 6.3 million total accidents reported to law
enforcement annually, driver inattention is a factor in approximately 4,000
to 8,000 crashes every day.  Distracted driving costs the nation between $40
and $80 billion annually.

    Brian Yesowitch of The Auto Channel Spoke with Pam Beer, Spokesperson for 
The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) Program.