Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) marked the one-year anniversary of FocusDriven, the national nonprofit group aimed to bring together victims of distracted-driving accidents. FocusDriven President Jennifer Smith unveiled a new PSA titled the “5500 campaign” that aims to put faces to the problem. The number 5,500 corresponds to the number of people killed by distracted driving in 2009.
The event also unveiled the latest video in the “Faces of Distracted Driving” series. This latest video highlights the story of Cady Reynolds who was killed when a teen texting behind the wheel struck her car. The video features her sister, 17-year-old Emily Reynolds, who speaks candidly about the death of her sister.
The DOT is also working to get the message out about distracted-driving dangers by encouraging companies to enact distraction policies. The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) has been working on promoting anti-distracted driving policies in the workplace and announced that in their most recent campaign over 4,600 organizations downloaded their electronic tool kit and 88 percent have or expect to put a cell-phone policy in place within the year. For example, Safeway grocery stores announced they would prohibit the company’s 1,525 truck drivers from talking or texting on cell phones, even with hands-free devices while driving.
For more on distracted driving, see our coverage on the issue, as well as visit distraction.gov.
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