Your Attention, Please: April Is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

CARS.COM — According to government statistics, 3,179 people were killed and 431,000 injured in traffic accidents involving distracted drivers in 2014. Meanwhile, 10 percent of 15- to 19-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes were distracted at the time. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month — and in light of statistics like these, it’s time to pay attention.

Related: More Safety News

One message the National Safety Council is trying to drive home this month is that just because your car’s infotainment systems were installed by the manufacturer doesn’t mean they’re safe to use while driving. That’s despite 53 percent of drivers believing otherwise.

“Infotainment is about convenience — not safety,” NSC said in a statement. “Vehicle technology should prevent crashes, not increase their likelihood.”

But according to NSC studies, that’s exactly what they do. The council said that drivers using mobile devices and multimedia features fail to see as much as half of their surroundings. Meanwhile, 80 percent of drivers mistakenly believe that hands-free technology is safer, despite more than 30 studies showing that the brain is still distracted — perhaps even more so.

“Dashboard infotainment systems allow drivers to stay connected,” NSC stated. “But just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should.”

What can you do to curb the deadly problem of distracted driving? For one, NSC says, you can educate yourself on the dangers and how to avoid them — and Cars.com can help with that. We’ve reported on this topic extensively, and encourage you to catch up on our distracted driving coverage with the links below.

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