Anyone who’s been on the roads has seen it: A fellow motorist cuts you off as they change lanes, glides through a red light or pulls out into traffic with barely a glance. Take a second look and it’s easy to tell why: they’re driving while distracted.
Cellphones, car radios, GPS units, cargo and passengers can all draw our attention away from the road, and just about everyone is guilty of getting distracted by one or more of these while behind the wheel. With most of us using our vehicles on a daily basis, it’s easy to forget that these machines have the potential to be lethal weapons, and that our piloting skills are the only thing keeping us, our passengers and other motorists safe. It’s all too easy to get complacent about the dangers of heading out on the road and focus too much on our creature comforts in the car, rather than on the very serious responsibility of driving.
That’s why we all need to be reminded of the importance of staying focused while operating a motor vehicle, and what better place to see that reminder than on the road? Earlier this month, the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety and State Police announced a new campaign to raise awareness about distracted driving, in which several commercial trucks will feature signs with slogans such as, “One Text Or Call Can Wreck It All.” It’s a testament to the importance of this message that commercial trucking companies are willing to host it on their private vehicles in support of this state-sponsored campaign. Participating are East Branch Delivery Services of Bangor, Auburn and Presque Isle; Mark Dyer of Bangor; and Jim and Jason Laptewicz of Portland and Bangor, with a total of 16 trucks.
We hope more will join in, and that roadside signs are also considered for inclusion in this campaign, for those motorists who do not happen upon the sponsored trucks.
In the past three years, there have been 8,000 crashes, resulting in 41 deaths, due to distracted driving in Maine, according to Department of Transportation figures cited by Gov. Paul LePage. Texting while driving is banned in Maine, but making a call on a cellphone is not, which puts police officers in the difficult position of trying to figure out whether a driver is dialing a phone number or typing a text. A ban on handheld cellphone use while driving is likely to be proposed as a result of this discrepancy, as it has in other states, but in the meantime, the state police are taking new approaches to enforcement that will help keep everyone on the road safer.
According to Col. Robert Williams, chief of the State Police, troopers will soon be standing on highway overpasses, positioned at street intersections and patrolling in unmarked vehicles. They’re looking to send the message of “no distractions, no excuses,” according to Williams, and that’s music to the ears of anyone who’s ever had to slam on the brakes, swerve or speed up to avoid the error of a distracted motorist.
Perhaps best of all, this anti-distracted driving campaign, from the signs to special enforcement details, is being funded with federal money: more than $600,000 from federal highway safety grants and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Here’s hoping motorists will pay attention to the signs, or at least be wary of the increased enforcement to put renewed effort into their focus on driving safely.
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