Montgomery County Wants Drivers To Put Down Those Phones
By Hadas Kuznits
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- The Montgomery County Health Department today kicked off a yearlong campaign to cut down on distracted driving.
Penndot safety press officer Brad Rudolph says more advanced technology has led to more distraction-related crashes and accidents.
"More smartphones, more electronic devices, more portable devices -- it only leads to more distractions," he said today.
And Rudolph says that taking your eyes off the road for even a moment can jeopardize your safety.
"You're about three times more likely to get in a crash if you are distracted -- especially teenagers," he says.
And while distractions can be anything from eating to grooming, he says that one of the most tempting interferences to a driver's concentration can be his or her cell phone.
"You get a text and you want to see it right away," Rudolph notes. "The best thing you can do is power it off."
Katie Kucz, with the Montgomery County Health Department, says if you don't want to turn your phone off, you can download an app that will respond to calls and texts for you with a standard reply of, "I'm driving, I can't talk right now." She says it's called the "drive mode app."
