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Oakton Security Sounds Alarm On Distracted Driving

School aims to bring awareness to consequences of distracted driving

Texting while behind the wheel. Checking a laptop or a BlackBerry. Dialing or talking on a cell phone. Distracted driving is everywhere.

In honor of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, ’s safety and security officer Jim Edmundson has launched a public awareness campaign to alert students and, he hopes, their parents about its dangers.

During the morning announcements this week, students will watch public service announcements about distracted driving. Edmundson recruited students to hang posters throughout the school, and students will be able to pick up key chains, brochures, and sign a “no texting” banner during lunches Thursday that will hang prominently at school. 

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“News about distracted driving is everywhere, and I wanted to get the word out,” Edmundson said.

The school’s safety and security website provides information about driving safety, with links to the most up-to-date research and public awareness campaigns.

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Every day Edmundson and Oakton's School Resource Officer Darrell Estess observe students driving into the school parking lot talking on their phones. At dismissal in the afternoon, Estess says, “As soon as they start their cars, they are on the phone.” 

It’s not just the students who are talking or checking text messages, Edmundson points out. “Parents are just as bad as the kids,” he said.

“I’m watching the local news or listening to the radio and you hear reports about distracted driving,” Edmundson said. “It’s a huge problem nationwide.”  

The Center for Injury Research and Prevention of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia reports “75 percent of serious teen driver crashes are due to ‘critical errors’ associated with inexperience.” 

Adding distractions exacerbates their risks.

Research from Drive Smart Virginia, a nonprofit dedicated to making Virginia’s roads safe, has found a person texting while driving is 23 times more likely to crash.

Cell phone use is also dangerous. Drive Smart research shows people are four times more likely to get into a crash than someone driving without distraction from the phone. And because cell phone use occurs more frequently and for longer durations than other risk behaviors, it’s the top source of driver inattention behind the wheel.

Drive Smart studies also show no difference found in the cognitive distraction between hand-held and hands-free devices.

Virginia prohibits drivers under 18 from using cell phones or other wireless devices while driving, regardless of whether the devices are hand-held. Drivers over 18 may use cell phones while driving.

Lucy Caldwell, a spokesperson for Fairfax County Police Department, provided the most recent statistics [see box above, right] showing Northern Virginia drivers were cited more than 3,300 times so far in 2011 for failure to allow full time and attention to driving. So far, 196 of those have been handed to drivers aged 15 through 20.

“Our officers see drivers swerving or running stop signs,” she said. “Distracted driving is often the cause.” 

Caldwell stresses the difference between legality and safety.  "When drivers are focused on a phone conversation, it might not be illegal but that doesn't mean it's safe."

Police Capt. Susan Culin and Officer Joe Moore addressed distracted driving in an online question-and-answer session with the public Nov. 5. See highlights from the discussion .

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