According to a Wisconsin Department of Transportation public information and outreach specialist, teens are more likely to be involved in car accidents than any other age group. The DOT employee also said that teenagers have grown up with technology at their fingertips and use their cell phones frequently. What is the connection? Employees of Wisconsin’s DOT and the Wisconsin State Patrol have undertaken a mission to teach students the importance of paying attention while driving and eliminating all distractions behind the wheel, including the use of cell phones.

Even though April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, officials in Wisconsin place a strong emphasis on reducing distracted driving year-round. Most recently, the DOT and the State Patrol combined forces with AT&T and AAA to the share the dangers of texting while driving to students participating in the Wisconsin Family Career and Community Leaders of America conference. This is just one of many events geared toward teens and safe driving planned for the area.

Students who attended the conference listened to a lecture from the AT&T Wisconsin president and then had the option of using a driving simulator to understand the difficulties of texting and driving. One student who tried to text her mother while using the simulator crossed the center line several times. Another student who is also the first vice president of the Wisconsin FCCLA said in a press release that they need to encourage young people to stay off of their phones while driving and that no text is worth the risk of death.

Organizers of the events hope that peer pressure can have a positive effect on the dangers of distracted driving and encourage students to lead by example. Any effort to prevent car accidents and lessen the loss of life on America’s highways is a worthy endeavor and that’s the focus of Distracted Driving Month. With fewer distracted drivers behind the wheel, our roadways become safer places and, hopefully, people will have less need of the services our nation’s car accident attorneys provide.

Source: Wisconsin Dells Events, “Students learn to not text and drive” Jason Cuevas, Apr. 04, 2014