Starting April 9, Guam drivers can count on to see elevated enforcement of distracted driving legal guidelines. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero stated officers will cease and ticket anybody caught taking a look at their telephones whereas driving.
Most of us spend a number of time in our automobiles — commuting to work, selecting up the youngsters, dropping the youngsters at their subsequent vacation spot, operating to appointments, grabbing lunch. And fashionable automobiles are geared up with snug seating, nice sound techniques and navigation tools for a pleasing and stress-free driving expertise.
Sadly, the comforts of residence deliver loads of distractions. As we attain for a crispy fry, seek for our favourite tune or take a look at the most recent posting on the WhatsApp chat, our consideration is diverted from the two-ton powerhouse we’re guiding by way of the village.
April is Nationwide Distracted Driving Consciousness Month, and a high-visibility schooling and regulation enforcement marketing campaign is being launched to drive residence the message that distracted driving is unacceptable.
The governor’s workplace introduced that various companies — Division of Public Works Workplace of Freeway Security, Guam Police Division Freeway Patrol Division, Guam Worldwide Airport Authority Police, Port Authority of Guam Police, Judiciary of Guam, and the Workplace of the Lawyer Common — are partnering with the Insurance coverage Affiliation of Guam’s “Heads Up Guam” marketing campaign to conduct “U Drive. U Textual content. U Pay.”
The thought behind excessive visibility enforcement is to let folks know that sure behaviors are unacceptable, and that regulation enforcement can be out in full pressure looking forward to these behaviors.
In accordance with the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration, these campaigns mix enforcement, visibility parts, and a publicity technique to coach the general public and promote voluntary compliance with the regulation. Checkpoints, saturation patrols and warnings are used.
The aim isn’t to catch violators — the aim is to alter habits. The “Click on-It-Or-Ticket” seatbelt marketing campaign is an instance.
We might not be motivated by the chance or dying, critical harm or property injury ensuing from our habits, however in some way the opportunity of a visitors quotation and a positive will assist us make higher selections.
“Starting April 9, our folks will see elevated regulation enforcement efforts,” Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero stated in a information launch. “Officers will cease and ticket anybody caught taking a look at their telephone whereas driving. We’ll proceed selling freeway security and inspiring everybody to maintain our heads up and our eyes on the highway, particularly as we work in direction of restoration.”
Enforcement
Guam’s enforcement effort is an element of a bigger nationwide push towards distracted driving. A 2019 Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration research discovered that 9% of deadly crashes, 15% of harm crashes, and 15% of all automobile visitors crashes that yr concerned distractions.
“Usually discussions relating to distracted driving focus on mobile phone use and texting, however distracted driving additionally contains different actions equivalent to consuming, speaking to different passengers, or adjusting the radio or local weather controls,” the report said.
The research discovered 3,142 folks had been killed and 424,000 folks had been injured that yr in distraction crashes. Among the many useless — 566 pedestrians, bicyclists and others who weren’t in a automotive when the crashes occurred.
So easy methods to take care of the ever-present distractions?
Maureen Tellei Sablan of the Insurance coverage Affiliation of Guam provided some recommendation.
“There may be extra to texting than meets the attention. There are easy actions to take that can finally result in a neighborhood with secure drivers. Make it a rule that you’ll by no means use your telephone whereas driving. Activate the Apple ‘don’t disturb whereas driving’ or the Samsung ‘in-traffic reply’ so you may drive and you understand your loved ones, mates and workforce is aware of that you’re unable to reply instantly since you are driving.”
The enforcement marketing campaign serves as a superb reminder to all of us — we have to put down the telephones, put aside the fries and maintain off on the tune search lengthy sufficient to drive safely.
