Distracted Driving and Work Zone Awareness

Life is full of distractions, and distracted driving is something we have all experienced from one perspective or another. While it is a common and relatable thing, driving is a task that demands complete attention; we know that crashes can and do result from distracted driving.

Southeast Michigan’s traffic fatalities have increased drastically to a decade high, up 24% from 2019 and 33% from 2011. As we know, “accidents” of all kinds tend to happen when we least expect them, and no one expects to become a statistic. Distracted Driving Awareness Month provides a simple reminder that it is important to maintain safe driving habits and stay alert behind the wheel each and every day. To view more traffic crash data in Southeast Michigan, visit our Transportation Data webpage.

National Work Zone Awareness Week: April 11-15, 2022

Hosted by the American Traffic Safety Services Association, the theme for this year’s National Work Zone Awareness Week is “Work zones are a sign to slow down.” In addition to practicing alert driving, road users are encouraged to exercise extreme caution through highway work zones. This in especially relevant as fatal crashes in work zones have trended upward in recent years. Nationwide, there were 521 in 2010 compared to an average of 724 over the past 5 years.

Southeast Michigan is joining the effort to spread awareness by sharing safety social messaging every day this week. Is your community interested in sharing similar messages? View our social schedule for this week, learn more on ATSSA’s website, and follow SEMCOG on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

Walk.Bike.Drive Safe Messages

Every year SEMCOG shares a Walk.Bike.Drive Safe spring social campaign and resources, aimed at bringing safety awareness for those on or near the road. We are currently putting the final touches on a NEW Walk.Bike.Drive. Safe video highlighting work zone awareness. We can’t wait for you to see it, but the photos below provide a glimpse of the message, which is that safe driving is about helping everyone get home safely.

While we work off data, we know that every crash statistic is a person. We also know that every safe driving trip is a potential life saved, a family whose life will not get turned upside down.

Anecdotally, I see people using their phones or doing other secondary tasks while driving on a daily basis. It can be a frustrating feeling to watch people behave carelessly, but I think the truth is that no one believes they will be the cause of a crash. As likely as not, the actual distractions that lead to deadly crashes are just benign details of our day-to-day lives and not any more evil than the drivers who succumb to distraction and lose control. The reality is that it can happen to any of us, but we have a choice to bend the odds a little bit toward safety each time we drive.

I hope people will watch this video and be reminded that construction sites aren’t just obstructive orange barrels and cones. Those barrels and cones are there to remind us that there are many human beings on the other side, and that their lives are in our hands when we drive by them. Driving has no room for distractions. Whatever the distraction it is – a text message, an email, a quick Google search, a bite to eat, etc. – it can wait.

We highly encourage communities to participate in sharing safety messages during April and during our upcoming spring Walk.Bike.Drive Safe campaign, May 2-15. To learn more about WBDS and to view updates, visit our website!