Month notes need for awareness at wheel Published April 23, 2014 By Tech. Sgt. Latricia Potts 60th Air Mobility Wing Safety Office TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Driving a vehicle is something millions of Americans do each day, several times a day and sometimes for hours each day. It is a rite of passage into adulthood for many teens, and it is one of the primary modes of transportation in the United States. Since the dawn of the era of automobiles, safety has gone from being almost nonexistent to advanced, physics-driven devices. Everything from seat belts, to traffic lights, to reverse cameras have made driving and riding in a car safer for occupants. In fact, driving a car is now twice as safe as it was 50 years ago, but one lost life on the road is one too many. April is National Distracted Driving Awareness month. Studies show that distracted driving accounts for 25 to 50 percent of traffic accidents in the United States. When most people hear the term distracted driving, their mind tends to automatically go to texting, eating, talking on cell phones and interacting with passengers. However, the National Safety Council defines distracted driving as any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. It is unrealistic to eliminate all distractions, but we should all attempt to mitigate distractions that we can control. A great example is cell phone usage while driving. This includes both texting and talking. To place a phone call and engage in conversation, you very likely physically remove one hand from the steering wheel, visually take your eyes off the road and cognitively take your mind off of the road. Technologies such as voice recognition and Bluetooth have reduced the visual and manual distractions, but do nothing for cognitive distractions. Have you ever been engaged in conversation while in a car to get home and not even remember how you got there? People often dismiss the risks of cognitive distraction because we all engage in conversations with passengers in our car. Yes, this too is a form of distraction, but less dangerous than engaging in conversation with someone on the phone. The difference is that if an unexpected event that requires your intervention happens while you are talking to a passenger, they will likely stop talking, point and verbalize the threat to assist you in avoiding it. The same is not true while talking on the phone. While you are cognitively distracted, the person you are engaged in conversation with is not in your car, and therefore unable to assist you with the unexpected event or potential threat. The NSC reports that driving while talking on cell phones - handheld and hands-free, increases risk of injury and property damage crashes fourfold. Is that phone call to say, "I'm on my way home now" more important than actually getting home? Is reading that text that says, "LOL" so important? Yes it is legal in both the state of California and on Travis AFB to use hands-free devices, but please take some time to consider the increased safety risk you are taking and never text while driving.