By Sarah Atsu
In honor of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness month, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office is urging civilians to put aside distractions and focus when they’re behind the wheel.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “…any activity that takes attention away from driving” is considered distracted driving. This includes but is not limited to, talking to people in the vehicle, adjusting the stereo, eating, drinking, or using the phone or other technology devices.
The impact of technology on the issue
Lt. Gorski, a lieutenant with the Cobb County Sheriff’s office’s Fugitive Apprehension Support Team, says technology is one of the main reasons for the rapidly expanding issue of distracted driving today.
“[Distracted driving] an issue that grows every day and is often exacerbated by the onset of technology,” said Gorski. “With increasing technology, every day we spend more time on our phones, and the more time we spend on them, the more likely we are to continue playing with them while we are sitting behind the wheel of a car. .”
Gorski describes technology and the wealth of information personal devices give us access to that is addictive.
“[The amount of information technology allows us to have], like an addictive drug, you’re looking for your next hit of dopamine to make you feel great,” Gorski said, “we just have to look at what’s on our Facebook feed, we have to that’s fine. We need to know what is happening in the world and the people around us.
Many people don’t realize that in the short amount of time it takes to read or send a text, a moving car can cover a lot of ground. The NHTSA reports that in five seconds, driving at 55 miles per hour, a car covers the length of an entire football field. Anything can happen at that time.
The legal part
Georgia has laws in place governing the use of technology in vehicles.
Georgia’s Hands-Free Law took effect on July 1, 2018. According to an article from Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, this law restricts two types of devices specifically: ‘stand-alone electronic device’ and ‘wireless telecommunications device. Stand-alone electronic devices are devices that are not wireless but can be used to view video or audio on demand. Wireless telecommunications devices are devices that can be used wirelessly.
None of the two types of devices specified by law are allowed to be used on a vehicle that is not in a legally defined parked position.
According to Georgia law, a ‘parked vehicle’ is a vehicle that is in a zone specifically designated for parking such as a parking lot or driveway, and is in the ‘parked’ position. This means that using a device at a red light or on the shoulder of the road is also not allowed, regardless of whether or not the car is in ‘park’.
Despite these laws, many people continue to use their devices at inappropriate times, and on roads that are heavily used by vehicles and pedestrians, it only takes one distracted driver to cause an accident. tragedy.
About four to five years ago, Gorski said, a man was hit and killed by a distracted driver as he crossed the street on Powder Springs Road. This is just one of many tragic stories caused by distracted driving.
Inform, educate, and enforce
While law enforcement’s job is to enforce the law, officers can only do so much.
“There are more people than officers,” Gorski said, “we can’t go out there to arrest every person who breaks the law and unfortunately they will continue to do so until a tragedy happens… That’s the cause of all to inform, educate, and enforce the laws on ourselves and the people around us.”
Inform, educate, and enforce are the three steps of law enforcement. First, people are informed of the rules that are in place. Second, they are educated about it as the rules are explained. Finally, rules are enforced through consequences. In law, these consequences are usually a fine, points on a license, or jail time, but these measures can also be transferred to the daily life of regular people.
“If you’re in the car with a friend and they pick up the phone, don’t be afraid to call them,” Gorski said. “[Inform and educate] of the dangers of distracted driving, and let them know that if they continue to use their phone while they are driving, you will no longer be able to ride with them.”
Group actions such as groups of family and friends pledging to be safe drivers and using phone functions to mute notifications while you drive are another way regular people can help. to combat distracted driving.
Gorski said that at home he tells his children to put their phones on ‘do not disturb’ while they are driving to avoid distractions. In his work life, Gorski says he uses the text-to-voice function for important documents and messages to be read to him on his devices. Also, instead of texting, he uses his iPhone’s ‘hey Siri’ function to call in response to messages that require an immediate response.
Take your time
The only thing a person can never get back is time. The amount of time is limited, and less than that is available to each individual. Since our time is so limited, many people try to make the most of all their time by multitasking as much as they can, even while they are driving. Despite this, Gorski emphasized that while traveling people should give themselves the necessary time needed to focus only on driving and driving safely.
“We have to try and give ourselves time and stop duplicating things and trying to cram more into the same amount of time,” said Gorski, “we have to give ourselves time to travel and to go wherever we need. go.”
Sarah Atsu is a 20-year-old journalism student at Kennesaw University. He has a passion for writing and storytelling. He is in his junior year of college and hopes to study law after he graduates.
