So I used to have a girlfriend that drove an hour to work every day in Chicago rush hour traffic in her 5 speed manual stick shift Saturn while eating a bowl of Cheerios. Wondering what kind of special person would do such a thing? Let me tell you she was really special, like so special I could write a series of bestselling psycho thriller novels special. But to answer the question, probably allot more people than you think.
Distracted driving has become a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States. Chances are you have been guilty of checking your email, doing your makeup, or texting your buddy while you were driving. I mean you probably weren’t dumb enough to eat a bowl of Cheerios while driving your stick shift in rush hour traffic, but it doesn’t take something that egregious to cause a major accident or get you in serious trouble. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, let’s all make a commitment to keeping our eyes on the road. If you need more convincing here are some reasons why you should be driving distraction free.
Effective July 1st 2019, Illinois has increased the fine for distracted driving to $75 and distracted driving will also be considered a moving violation. Why does the moving violation matter? First if you receive three moving violations in a twelve month period your driver’s license will most likely be suspended. Law enforcement officials have the right to pull you over just for showing signs of distracted driving. This includes swerving and looking down into your lap. If you have ever driven behind someone who is texting or facebooking while driving it is pretty easy to figure out what’s going on.
Another reason moving violations matter is because they drastically increase the cost of your auto insurance. Not only do insurance companies look at how many moving violations you have, but they look at the type of moving violations as well. So if you have a moving violation for driving five miles an hour over the speed limit, typically I can convince an underwriter that it isn’t that big of a deal. Distracted Driving on the other hand is a huge concern for insurance companies right now. Many insurance companies view distracted driving to be as bad as driving under the influence and there is research to back that up.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at least 25% of all motor vehicle accidents involve distracted driving. Around 10% of all motor vehicle fatalities involve distracted driving. Those numbers have been moving in the wrong direction for the past 10 years. Federal and State Governments are taking action to get distracted driving under control and you can only expect penalties to become more severe.
According to the Illinois State Police here is what you can do to be a distraction free driver
- Pull over to a safe place to talk on the phone, text message, or email.
- Don’t touch that dial. Adjust seat positions, climate controls, sound systems, and other devices before you leave or when you stop.
- Don’t multi task while driving. Don’t use your mirrors for personal grooming.
- Pull over to care for your children.
- Stop to eat or drink
I started Beacon Insurance Group in 2012, and since that time I have had clients on the giving and receiving end of distracted driving. I have had a client cause a fatality because he was texting at night and rear ended a man ending his life. Besides the obvious pain and suffering he cause to this man’s family, and paying out his $500,000 limit of liability on his auto insurance, my client has to go through his life knowing what he did ended a human’s life. Another client of mine was riding his bike on a perfectly sunny day when he was hit by a girl playing on her phone. He is lucky to be alive, but suffered severe head and leg injuries. He spent months in the hospital, and two years later still isn’t fully recovered.
So the bottom line is distracted driving just isn’t worth it. The fines and penalties or only going to increase with time. I know I the age of technology it is so tempting to pick up the phone to check a score or an email. You can never take back injuring or killing another human. At this point we all need to be aware that it is senseless to continue this behavior. So in honor of Distracted Driving Awareness Month let’s put down the phone’s….or bowls of Cheerios, and pay attention to the road.
So I used to have a girlfriend that drove an hour to work every day in Chicago rush hour traffic in her 5 speed manual stick shift Saturn while eating a bowl of Cheerios. Wondering what kind of special person would do such a thing? Let me tell you she was really special, like so special I could write a series of bestselling psycho thriller novels special. But to answer the question, probably allot more people than you think.
Distracted driving has become a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States. Chances are you have been guilty of checking your email, doing your makeup, or texting your buddy while you were driving. I mean you probably weren’t dumb enough to eat a bowl of Cheerios while driving your stick shift in rush hour traffic, but it doesn’t take something that egregious to cause a major accident or get you in serious trouble. April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, let’s all make a commitment to keeping our eyes on the road. If you need more convincing here are some reasons why you should be driving distraction free.
Effective July 1st 2019, Illinois has increased the fine for distracted driving to $75 and distracted driving will also be considered a moving violation. Why does the moving violation matter? First if you receive three moving violations in a twelve month period your driver’s license will most likely be suspended. Law enforcement officials have the right to pull you over just for showing signs of distracted driving. This includes swerving and looking down into your lap. If you have ever driven behind someone who is texting or facebooking while driving it is pretty easy to figure out what’s going on.
Another reason moving violations matter is because they drastically increase the cost of your auto insurance. Not only do insurance companies look at how many moving violations you have, but they look at the type of moving violations as well. So if you have a moving violation for driving five miles an hour over the speed limit, typically I can convince an underwriter that it isn’t that big of a deal. Distracted Driving on the other hand is a huge concern right for insurance companies right now. Many insurance companies view distracted driving to be as bad as driving under the influence and there is research to back that up.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at least 25% of all motor vehicle accidents involve distracted driving. Around 10% of all motor vehicle fatalities involve distracted driving. Those numbers have moving in the wrong direction for the past 10 years. Federal and State Governments are taking action to get distracted driving under control and you can only expect penalties to become more severe.
According to the Illinois State Police here is what you can do to be a distraction free driver
- Pull over to a safe place to talk on the phone, text message, or email.
- Don’t touch that dial. Adjust seat positions, climate controls, sound systems, and other devices before you leave or when you stop.
- Don’t multi task while driving. Don’t use your mirrors for personal grooming.
- Pull over to care for your children.
- Stop to eat or drink
I started Beacon Insurance Group in 2012, and since that time I have had clients on the giving and receiving end of distracted driving. I have had a client cause a fatality because he was texting at night and rear ended a man ending a man. Besides the obvious pain and suffering he cause to this man’s family, and paying out his $500,000 limit of liability on his auto insurance, my client has to go through his life knowing what he did ended a human’s life. Another client of mine was riding his bike on a perfectly sunny day when he was hit by a girl playing on her phone. He is lucky to be alive, but suffered severe head and leg injuries. He spent months in the hospital, and two years later still isn’t fully recovered.
So the bottom line is distracted driving just isn’t worth it. The fines and penalties or only going to increase with time. I know in the age of technology it is so tempting to pick up the phone to check a score or an email. You can never take back injuring or killing another human. At this point we all need to be aware that it is senseless to continue this behavior. So in honor of Distracted Driving Awareness Month let’s put down the phone’s….or bowls of Cheerios, and pay attention to the road.