April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month: Tips to Stay Safe on the Road

-




Staying in touch with friends and family while on the go is important, but being on your smartphone, among other distractions, while driving could be dangerous. In Maryland it is unlawful to use a hand-held cell phone while driving. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), about 4.57 million people were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2017, and fatalities topped 40,000 for the third straight year. In Maryland, fatalities were up 7 percent year over year in 2017. Distracted driving is one of the top two leading causes of accidents.


Many people recognize distractors including texting and using apps for directions when using a smartphone, but eating, grooming, smoking, adjusting vehicle settings, driving when tired or being lost in thought can be hazardous as well. Fortunately, there are ways that drivers can avoid many of these distractions, and parents can monitor teen drivers to ensure better safety using the latest in wireless technology.

“This Distracted Driving Awareness Month, we’re shining a light on the importance of practicing safe driving habits and discussing road rules with teens and adults,” said Nathan Waddell, director of sales for U.S. Cellular in the Mid-South. “One way to start the discussion is with U.S. Cellular’s Parent-Child agreement which helps teens and parents set family rules and expectations. Having these talks up front can go a long way in preventing distracted driving in the future.”

U.S. Cellular: Don't be driven to distraction, here's how to avoid it,

• Don’t Text and Drive. Many apps enable you to automate prompts by voice commands. Drivemode for Android devices can send automatic text replies and simplify driving by activating your favorite apps through voice commands. Voice-activated technology is also available on navigational apps like WAZE so that your eyes can stay on the road and hands on the wheel while getting directions. Additionally, you can put any smartphone in “Do Not Disturb” mode to completely avoid calls or texts while behind the wheel.
• Go Hands Free. A U.S. Cellular study shows that 71 percent of smartphone users use a hands free device such as a Bluetooth handset while driving.1 If it’s imperative to talk on the phone while driving, many cars now offer Bluetooth calling options through the vehicle’s speakers. Other choices are a Bluetooth ear bud speaker or an in-car device that can covert most car radios into a Bluetooth speaker.
• Monitor Progress. Parents can monitor driving habits through helpful tools such as CruiseConnect. With this tool, parents can set and receive boundary alerts, track their vehicles in real time and monitor family driving behavior through analysis of unsafe driving, such as texting while driving, harsh braking and speeding. Additionally, families can view trip history, track fuel usage and monitor vehicle health and manufacturer recalls. It also turns the vehicle into a Wi-Fi hotspot for family travel.
• Be Committed. U.S. Cellular’s Parent-Child agreement allows families to create a customizable contract with family members to make the conversation about driving responsibilities easier and clearer. The agreement focuses on safety and etiquette, whether you are driving, at the family dinner table or school, and it helps set the rules and expectations for everyone.
¹ Between Nov. 8-17, 2017, a total of 706 online interviews were conducted among a nationally representative sample by Consumer Insights, in partnership with Maritz CX.

About U.S. Cellular
U.S. Cellular is the fifth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to elevate the customer experience. The Chicago-based carrier offers coverage where the other carriers don't and a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers’ lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. For the fourth time in a row, U.S. Cellular has the Highest Wireless Network Quality Performance, according to J.D. Power’s twice-annual U.S. Wireless Network Quality Performance Study, and 99 percent of customers have access to 4G LTE speeds. To learn more about U.S. Cellular, visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com. To get the latest news, promos and videos, connect with U.S. Cellular on Facebook.com/uscellular, Twitter.com/uscellular and YouTube.com/uscellularcorp.

###

For more information about Out Box PR contact outboxcomm1@gmail.com.





http://www.nsc.org/NewsDocuments/2018/December_2017.pdf

https://www.dmv.com/md/maryland/distracted-driving-laws



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UScellular Wants You to Disconnect from Your Device Company Encourages Americans to Take the Phone’s Down for 5 Challenge During National Day of Unplugging on March 3

-
Image
Celebrated the first Friday in March, National Day of Unplugging is a day to disconnect from digital distractions. UScellular is encouraging West Virginia residents take this a step further with a personal experiment called Phones Down For 5. Phones Down For 5 is part of the company’s recently announced “Let’s Find US” initiative. The goal is to inspire people, who on average spend more than five hours a day staring at their phone screen1, to reset their relationship with technology. Phones Down For 5 challenge asks people to voluntarily stop using their phone to reveal how addicted they are to it. The challenge is built on a simple action: taking a phone break for 5 days, 5 hours, or even just 5 minutes, to reset your relationship with technology. The company is inviting everyone to participate in Phones Down For 5 by going to uscellular.com/findus to set a personal goal and share their experience using #PhonesDownFor5. “Phones Down For 5 allows us all to address the serio
Read more

Oliver Stone Discusses His New JFK Documentary with Books on Pod on 58th Anniversary of Assassination

-
Image
Books on Pod with Trey Elling, known for its well-researched and probing interviews, will chat with Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone about his new documentary,  JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass . The conversation can be heard at  booksonpod.com/books/jfk-revisited , beginning Monday, November 22 at 8 am CT. JFK Revisited premieres that night on Showtime. Monday is the 58th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination.  See the trailer of  JFK Revisited: here . This is Mr. Stone’s third appearance on the podcast. The first two (episode #61 & #129) were based around his memoir,  CHASING THE LIGHT: WRITING, DIRECTING, AND SURVIVING PLATOON ,  CHASING THE LIGHT: PART 2  MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, SCARFACE, SALVADOR, AND THE MOVIE GAME . Each week, Elling conducts thoughtful, in-depth interviews with fascinating people, including Nobel Prize winners, extreme adventurers, true crime experts, Olympians, actors, filmmakers, and more.  Elling gets the scoop that you won’t hear anywhere else. 
Read more