Nationwide Passenger Security Week begins on Sunday, January 21, 2024

Cross-posted with permission from the US Nationwide Distracted Driving Coalition.

Image this: You’re using within the passenger seat of your pal’s automotive after they attain down to select up their telephone and alter the music. You provide to assist, however they do not want. They do that on a regular basis. They know what they’re doing, and it’ll solely take a second. Their eyes constantly dart from the roadway to the display screen. You wish to say one thing, however you don’t wish to offend your pal. What would you even say?

Nationwide Passenger Security Week, which begins on Sunday, January 21, is devoted to empowering and inspiring passengers to talk up when their driver is distracted, impaired, rushing, or taking different reckless actions that would put lives in danger. The occasion, organized by We Save Lives and the Nationwide Highway Security Basis, is in its third 12 months. The Nationwide Distracted Driving Coalition is proud to help this effort.

A latest evaluation from the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration suggests distracted driving performs a task in practically one in three crash deaths. In lots of circumstances, the individual killed shouldn’t be the distracted driver however one other street consumer or passenger in the identical car — typically multiple. In 2021, of the 26,585 folks killed whereas using in passenger automobiles, about 22% had been passengers within the entrance or rear seats, in response to the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security (IIHS).

Passengers can defend themselves and others from the risks of distraction, impairment, lack of seat belt use, and rushing just by talking up. However that prompts the query: In case your driver is distracted, what may you say?

In accordance with a latest nationwide survey commissioned by IIHS, merely reminding a driver that distracted driving is harmful could make a distinction, particularly if the motive force is a pal or liked one. In that survey, most respondents agreed that being reminded by somebody they care about that they could injure or kill somebody would encourage them to keep away from distractions.

Joel Feldman, founding father of the Casey Feldman Basis and EndDD.org, has further recommendation based mostly on his expertise at dozens of workshops with college students throughout the nation. “Strive the easy assertion ‘As a passenger, I don’t really feel protected once you have a look at your telephone whereas driving,’” Feldman says. “Utilizing ‘I’ as a substitute of ‘you’ can sound much less confrontational. In my expertise, when drivers hear considerations expressed by their passengers on this method, many will put their telephones down. It’s seldom essential to even ask the motive force to place their telephone down when an ‘I assertion’ is used.”

Along with resolving to talk up, Nationwide Passenger Security Week can also be a wonderful time to remind household and mates to take proactive steps to remove distracted driving, resembling enabling their telephone’s “don’t disturb whereas driving” characteristic, which may block incoming notifications routinely after they’re driving.

“Analysis exhibits all of us have the ability to positively affect the behaviour of everybody round us,” says Robyn Robertson, NDDC chair and President & CEO of the Site visitors Harm Analysis Basis. “Talking as much as discuss our personal decisions to be protected and why we make them can successfully encourage others to undertake comparable protected behaviors. One other alternative to talk up is to say, ‘Are you aware you may allow Do Not Disturb Whereas Driving that can assist you give attention to the street?’”

Study extra about Nationwide Passenger Security Week and take the “Braveness to Intervene” promise at www.nationalpassengersafety.org.

The Nationwide Distracted Driving Coalition was fashioned in March 2021 to deal with distracted driving, which is a contributing issue to street deaths and accidents. This street security situation is a precedence concern shared by many organizations throughout many sectors. A various cross-section of entities, representing academia, non-profits, authorities, advocacy, and business, together with insurance coverage, transportation, automotive and expertise, have come collectively to create a Nationwide Motion Plan to deal with this essential situation. For extra data go to https://usnddc.org/

NDDC Steering Committee Press Contacts

TIRF is proud to help Nationwide Passenger Security Week and created an advert sequence that includes normal passenger security suggestions, distracted driving, alcohol-impaired driving & drug-impaired driving. We invite you to obtain them & share broadly on social media. The dwell hyperlinks for every referenced TIRF useful resource are: