{"id":10777,"date":"2022-04-12T15:27:37","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T19:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.greatflorida.com\/?p=10777"},"modified":"2026-04-16T17:02:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:02:22","slug":"dangers-of-distracted-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/2022\/dangers-of-distracted-driving\/","title":{"rendered":"Dangers of Distracted Driving"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhtsa.gov\/risky-driving\/distracted-driving\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration<\/a> (NHTSA) defines distracted driving as, \u201cany activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system \u2014 anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing hands-free while driving with your phone is helpful, but the real problem is the lack of concentration drivers experience while multi-tasking and driving,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/dustyns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" =_blank>Dustyn Shroff<\/a>, Vice President of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a>, Florida\u2019s largest independent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">auto insurance<\/a> agency.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flhsmv.gov\/2022\/04\/01\/after-deadly-year-flhsmv-launches-distracted-driving-awareness-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles<\/a> (FLHSMV) and it\u2019s division of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), \u00a0launched a campaign aimed at educating drivers on the importance of avoiding distracted driving.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-1024x558.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10782 lazyload\" width=\"242\" height=\"132\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-768x419.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-150x82.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-696x379.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-1536x838.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-2048x1117.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-1068x582.jpg 1068w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 242px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 242\/132;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-768x419.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-150x82.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-696x379.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-1536x838.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-2048x1117.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FocusonDriving-1068x582.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>https:\/\/www.flhsmv.gov\/safety-center\/driving-safety\/distracted-driving\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The aim of the \u201cPut It Down,\u201d campaign is to inform motorist of current laws against distracted driving. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flhsmv.gov\/2022\/04\/01\/after-deadly-year-flhsmv-launches-distracted-driving-awareness-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">FLHSMV<\/a> reports on average, there were over 1,000 distracted driving accidents a week in Florida last year.<\/p>\n<p>The FLHSMV also reports in 2021, distracted driving resulted in 333 fatalities across the state. That is the highest record in Florida in at least eight years. There were 56,425 distracted driving crashes with 2,723 causing bodily injury.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDriving, no matter how routine, requires a driver\u2019s full attention,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/dustyns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" =_blank>Dustyn Shroff<\/a>, Vice President of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a>, Florida\u2019s top independent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">auto insurance<\/a> agency.<\/p>\n<p>Below are tips from the campaign to help you and your passengers arrive safely to your destination.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Safety Tips for Driving<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you are expecting a text message or need to send one, pull over and park your car in a safe location. Once you are safely off the road and parked, it is safe to text.<\/li>\n<li>Designate your passenger as your \u201cdesignated texter.\u201d Allow them access to your phone to respond to calls or messages.<\/li>\n<li>Do not engage in social media scrolling or messaging while driving.<\/li>\n<li>Struggling to not text and drive? Activate your phone\u2019s \u201cDo Not Disturb\u201d feature, or put your cell phone in the trunk, glove box, or back seat of your vehicle until you arrive at your destination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Put Your Phone Away or Pay<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When you get behind the wheel, be an example to your family and friends by putting your phone away. Just because other people do it doesn\u2019t mean texting and driving is \u201cnormal\u201d behavior.<\/li>\n<li>In 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, texting while driving is an illegal, ticketable offense. You could end up paying a hefty fine and get points on your license.<\/li>\n<li>If you see someone texting while driving, speak up. If your friend is texting while driving, tell them to stop. Listen to your passengers: If they catch you texting while driving and tell you to put your phone away, put it down.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a> wants to protect you and your vehicle, contact us today to check out our affordable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">auto insurance<\/a> rates.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"204\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1080 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto-150x64.jpg 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 480px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 480\/204;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/auto-150x64.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/florida-auto-insurance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines distracted driving as, \u201cany activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system \u2014 anything that takes your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1219,"featured_media":10784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,84,83],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10777","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-auto-insurance","8":"category-fr44-insurance","9":"category-sr22-insurance"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10777"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13606,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10777\/revisions\/13606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}