A new program intends to target distracted driving in D.C. neighborhood by neighborhood.
More than 3,500 people were killed nationally in 2021 because of distraction, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There have been 42 traffic deaths in the District this, which is more than any year during the pandemic and well above the 27 deaths in 2019.
“However we’re moving throughout the District, we have to be free of distractions,” said Rick Birt, director of the D.C. Highway Safety Office, which will lead the effort. “Making sure that when we’re on foot our phones are tucked away and we’re looking both ways and aren’t distracted. When we’re behind the wheel, the same things apply.”
Officials said they are going to target younger people – specifically middle school students – because, they say, that’s when a lot of the distraction with devices can start.
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“We know that young people are some of the most avid phone users,” Birt said. “According to new research, a young person can spend up to eight hours a day on a technology device.”
The campaign also will explore using D.C.’s vast automated enforcement program to detect and penalize distracted drivers.
The District received an $87,000 grant for the new campaign to eliminate distracted driving.
Transportation
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