Distracted Driving Awareness Month
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- According to the National Road Safety Foundation, April is Distracted Driving Awareness month. Their latest data from 2023 showed nearly 1,100 deaths in Texas resulted from driving distractedly.
"4,294 people died in 2023 on Texas roads and highways. So being conservative, we're taking 25% of that comes to about 1075. That's how we got at that number," said David Reich with the National Road Safety Foundation.
He says the most vulnerable age group when it comes to distracted driving is teens. He says that's because they're new to driving so having a phone wouldn't be the only distraction.
"Be cautious about having other kids in the car. That's a very big distraction for young people, is other kids in the car because, you know, they're having fun, they're making noise. They're kidding around.," Reich told ABC-7.
Reich told us that if you see someone driving while distracted to speak up because you could save a life.
"Don't worry about being called a backseat driver. If there's a crash, you can take out a total stranger on the road, somebody in another car, a pedestrian, a bicycle ride on the side of the road. So there really can be some very serious consequences," said Reich.
