McWilliams Moving launches Action against Distraction Awareness Campaign

The OPP recently declared distracted driving as the “number one killer on roads,” overtaking drinking while driving. Many Canadian provinces banned the use of handheld devices while driving years ago, but the stats are still prevalent McWilliams has launched a Don’t Text & Drive awareness campaign. “Safety is our number one priority,” says Dan McWilliams. “We spend a lot of time and money on safety; from training, to our equipment and its maintenance, which is all positively reflected in our (CVOR) ranking with the Ministry of Transportation.”

Larry Morgan, McWilliams’ Safety and Compliance Officer, says “texting and driving is a very serious safety issue on the highway. With our trucks moving all over Canada and the USA, we want to use them as a rolling billboard to make other drivers aware of the dangers of this distraction.”

Cell phone use while driving is a growing problem and a prevalent mode of distraction. This technological and social phenomenon is contributing to one of the leading causes of unintentional death, injury and motor vehicle collisions.

Driver distraction is responsible for up to 80% of motor vehicle collisions or about 4 million motor vehicle crashes in North America each year. Many countries worldwide and provinces throughout Canada have implemented legislation banning cell phone use while driving.

Even more alarming than cell phone conversations is text messaging while driving. Results of a large-scale, naturalistic driving study found a 23.2 times increase in crash or near-crash risk when reading and sending text messages compared with driving without distractions.

The goal for public education is not only to raise awareness about this problem but also to convince people to change their driving habits. Whether it is hand-held or hands-free, the conversation is the distraction, regardless of what the laws say.

Although hard statistics are currently lacking, Cell phones are one of the most common distractions for drivers. Drivers engaged in text messaging on a cellular phone are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near crash event compared with non-distracted driver

The SAFEST MOVE you can make. DON’T TEXT & DRIVE