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Blink. Blink again. In those one to two seconds, life as you know it could be over.

One second is all it takes to be distracted from driving. One second between life and death. Maybe yours. Maybe someone else’s. Maybe both.

Your cellphone is ringing and you “need” to answer it. You’re hungry and need to eat breakfast. You forgot to shave and think it’s OK to do so on your way to work.

These are all situations many find themselves in while driving. Is any of it really worth the risk?

While your first reaction may be to say no, the mounting statistics say otherwise.

Studies suggest that distraction from cellphone use while driving (handheld or hands free) extends a driver’s reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of 0.08 percent, yet millions of people still drive distracted each and every day.

In fact, distracted driving is responsible for more than 5,000 deaths and close to 450,000 accidents in the United States every year. And that number is trending upward.

What’s more, it’s no coincidence that boosting numbers are in sync with the rapid rate with which technology is advancing. After all, there isn’t much you can’t do with a cellphone these days.

Instant Access

We are now in an age in which “instant updates” are the norm. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, generate tens of thousands of updates per second. The need for instantaneous information is only exacerbated when you couple it with the continued rise of text messaging.

To that end, in June 2011 alone, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or received in the United States, up nearly 50 percent from the same period two years earlier, according to CTIA, the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry.

Consider this. In 2009, 16 percent of fatal crashes involved reports of distracted driving, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). While numbers have not yet been released for 2011, the chances of a higher fatality rate seem likely.

In fact, a 2011 Virginia Tech study found that a driver is 23 times more likely to crash if he/she is texting while driving. Not an uplifting stat to consider when you think about the fact that there are an estimated 210 million drivers in the United States alone.

Not Just a Cellphone Problem

Given these numbers, it may seem like cellphones and texting are the only offenders in the war over distracted driving, but it simply isn’t true.

According to endDD.org, a nonprofit organization founded by Philadelphia-based Joel Feldman after his daughter was killed as a pedestrian by a distracted driver (see more, sidebar), only 18 percent of distracted driving fatalities occur because of cellphone use.

So what makes up the other 82 percent? Well, just about everything else: eating and drinking; talking to passengers; grooming; reading, including maps; using a nav system; and adjusting a radio and/or iPod, just to name a few.

“While cellphones and texting are, of course, extremely dangerous and should never be used while driving, most people don’t realize that any time you take your eyes off the road—even for one second—you are distracted,” says Feldman. “It can happen to any of us. In an instant, your life can change.”

Even with state laws that ban cellphone use (note: no state bans cellphone use for all drivers, but many prohibit all use by certain drivers), distracted driving still runs rampant.

“You see it every day. Just recently, I watched someone eat a yogurt and steer their SUV with their knees,” Feldman says. “People need to wake up and realize that these behaviors are preventable and they can save lives.”

‘It Won’t Happen to Me’

Most people assume distracted driving is only a teen problem, especially given its correlation to cellphone use, but that’s not the case.

“This is not a teen problem; this is an everyone problem,” says Feldman. “Yes, teens are on their phones, but so are we. We are the ones yelling at the kids in the backseat or putting on lipstick in the mirror—and we are the ones our children look to as examples of how they should be.”

Children live in a “monkey see, monkey do” environment. “When you see your parents constantly on the phone while driving or doing anything else that is distracting, it becomes acceptable behavior,” he says.

Hence, the cycle continues.

In addition to the behaviors teens see, there are additional factors to consider: sheer inexperience on the road, shorter attention spans and the temptation to stay “connected.”

The reality is, today’s teens have never lived in a world in which iPhones and Androids didn’t exist. They don’t see a reason why they cannot be in contact at all times and, at this age, their belief very much hinges on the “it won’t happen to me” philosophy.

However, because teens are still young and somewhat impressionable, they’re also the ones who are key to breaking the cycle.

Educate Early

The question now becomes, how do you get through to teens about distracted driving so they put down the phones on their own?

While the stats don’t lie—10 percent of drivers aged 16 to 24 years old are on their phone at any one time—there is some hope that teens realize driving distracted can be deadly.

A Pew Internet & American Life Project study found that 40 percent of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cellphone in a way that put people in danger.

Through Feldman’s endDD.org and other groups, such as NODD.org and 60 for Safety, work is being done to speak to teens across the country in hopes that they will finally understand what can happen if they don’t drive safely.
In April, as part of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, 60 for Safety—in conjunction with endDD.org, the Casey Feldman Foundation and NODD.org—will offer high school teens an educational, yet sobering glimpse into the tragic results that can occur when driving distracted. The 60-minute talks are being held across all 50 states and throughout Canada. To find out if a local talk is being given in your area or to request a presentation, visit 60forsafety.org.
“I hope it doesn’t take personal tragedy to show people why they shouldn’t drive distracted,” says Feldman. “That’s part of why we’re doing these presentations—to tell the right story with the right message. We want to save lives. This is a great way to start.”

Charity Corner

Q&A with Joel Feldman, founder of endDD.org

Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson lost their daughter, Casey, in July 2009 when she was struck as a pedestrian in a distracted driving accident. Borne from this tragedy were two nonprofit organizations: the Casey Feldman Foundation and endDD.org. Here, we talk with Feldman about his passion for these two groups, how he hopes to educate the masses about distracted driving and even a little bit about Casey.

The Safety Report: Let’s talk about the origins of endDD.org.
Joel Feldman: After Casey died, I realized I needed to do something, so I spent the next eight months working with traffic safety professionals about getting a law passed so vehicles must now stop—not yield—to pedestrians. We dubbed it “Casey’s Law.”

Over the course of those meetings and talking about what happened, we came into contact with more and more people who had suffered similar tragedies. We eventually connected with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. It’s his mission is to reduce and end distracted driving. He’s our champion.

He came up with Faces of Distracted Driving (www.distraction.gov/content/faces), which features stories of others killed by distracted driving. Stats don’t stick, but faces and stories do. I looked at that and thought Casey’s story needs to be there, so we made it happen.

From that, we received an overwhelming response. Our cause began to take off. We would give talks in communities and schools. It was just amazing.

With help from colleagues, we founded endDD.org. We did all the research, collected the data and even had some of Casey’s friends contribute videos. We very much wanted it to be a place where anyone could learn about distracted driving.

Once you do these things, you find out that people in traffic safety really want to help. I’ve now worked with people at NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration), the National Safety Council and more.

TSR: What do you think it’s going to take to get people to stop driving with one hand on the wheel and the other on their phone?
Feldman: It’s tough. People who are involved in these accidents are just like you and me. It takes just a second and you can be on the other side. I hope it doesn’t take a personal tragedy to get people to stop driving distracted. That’s part of why we do these presentations—to tell the right story with the right message.

TSR: Can you see a time when the laws reflect just how dangerous distracted driving truly is?
Feldman: It makes sense to ban handheld cellphones, texting, any electronic device. While they’re not the only cause, cellphone use is at the heart of the problem. If you pass that legislation, then you can educate people on the laws and enforce it.

Right now, the NHTSA is running a pilot program in states such as New York and Connecticut in which cellphone use is banned. They’ve seen a 40 percent reduction in distracted driving. Now, that was a targeted and expensive program, but it worked. It’s about education, legislation and enforcement.

TSR: Tell us a bit about Casey and the Casey Feldman Foundation and what you’re doing today.
Feldman: Casey was an aspiring journalist who loved volunteering and animals. She worked in soup kitchens and no-kill animal shelters; she always wanted to help those in need. We want to continue that mission, so we encourage young people to volunteer, we work with various no-kill animal shelters and of course, push to end distracted driving.

One of the things I noticed in nonprofits as we’ve worked more with them over the past few years is that they have great programs, but no one knows about them.

So, through the Foundation, we are bringing together skilled college students with nonprofits to help them boost their websites and more. We are paying the students with stipends through the Foundation.

Also, because of Casey’s love of animals, we’ve started working with a rehab center in Philadelphia and just funded their first service dog. After the dog and new owner are trained, patients will work on feeding the dog, walking the dog and more. It will help with their rehab efforts. I think Casey would have loved that.

For more information, visit caseyfeldmanfoundation.org or endDD.org.