Two years ago, an estimated 5,479 people were killed in the United States due to distracted drivers\u2014most of them involving texting and driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.<\/p>\n
Texting still remains legal in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is, that by the time 2011\u2019s statistics roll around, many more people will have been killed,\u201d said David Ramil, Public Information Officer for the Department of Transportation\u2019s District 6.<\/p>\n
In an effort to curb texting while driving, the Florida DOT\u00a0 has been working with Miami Dade College
\nand schools across the state to promote the nationwide campaign, Put It Down. The campaign was\u00a0 introduced to MDC students in early September by the DOT\u2019s District 6 team.<\/p>\n
Officers hosted a table at each campus where they explained the hazards of texting and driving, gave away items, and had students sign petition cards pledging to put their cell phones down while driving.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy signing the petition card, students are making a commitment not only to themselves but to their family and friends to seriously put it down,\u201d Wolfson Campus Student Life Director Teresa Reigosa said.<\/p>\n
The United States Department of Transportation, whose other campaigns include Click It Or Ticket and You Drink You Lose, is focusing on getting texting and driving to become banned altogether.<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnology has changed the game. This wasn\u2019t an issue 10 years ago. Today it\u2019s one of the greatest distractions on the road,\u201d Ramil said.<\/p>\n
Increasing death and accident rates throughout\u00a0 the years are what have transformed texting and driving into such a frowned-upon act.<\/p>\n
Research shows that 20% of injury crashes in 2009 were due to distracted driving; 995 of those involved cell phone use by drivers under the age of twenty, according to NHTSA.<\/p>\n
NHTSA studies also show that using a cell phone while driving delays the driver\u2019s reaction as much as when having a blood alcohol level at the legal limit of 0.8%.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do it all the time. I\u2019ve never gotten into an accident or been pulled over, so I tend to never think twice about it,\u201d nineteen-year-old Kendall Campus student Rosalba Daniel said.<\/p>\n
Although texting and driving is illegal in certain states, the Preemption Law prohibits localities from enacting distracted driving bans in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want to get people to understand that this is a growing problem,\u201d Ramil said. \u201cPeople aren\u2019t aware that a simple text such as \u2018I\u2019ll meet you in five minutes\u2019 can potentially cost them their life.\u201d<\/p>\n
5,479<\/strong> people were killed in the United States due to distracted drivers<\/p>\n 20%<\/strong> of injury crashes in 2009 were due to distracted driving; 995 of those involved cell phone use by drivers under the age of twenty.<\/p>\n Using a cell phone while driving delays the driver\u2019s reaction as much as when having a blood alcohol level at the legal limit of 0.8%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two years ago, an estimated 5,479 people were killed in the United States due to distracted drivers\u2014most of them involving texting and driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Texting still remains legal in Florida. \u201cThe reality is, that by the time 2011\u2019s statistics roll around, many more people will have been killed,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":306,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6736","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\n