Apr 3, 2019 3 min read

Fellas, please put your phones down when you drive.

According to statistics released last week by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC), men were the recipients of 70% of all distracted driving citations filed in the state.

And while the number of citations related to disallowed phone usage while driving dropped 5% from 2017 to 2018, it’s a small dent in the 118% increase that has occurred in those types of citations between 2014 and 2018.

Checking a text message while behind the wheel may seem an innocent enough endeavor. It only takes a few seconds, right?

Look at it this way: A vehicle traveling 60 mph goes 88 feet per second, so in a hair over 4 seconds, the car has gone the length of a football field. Plenty can happen in those few seconds.

And please don’t think you’re the exception to the rule – you aren’t that one person who can simultaneously pay attention to the road while reading a message.

Is anything really that important? Is reading a message worth your life or someone else’s?

In its most recent data available, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found distracted driving killed 3,450 people in 2016, and injured 319,000. The NHTSA estimates 10 people are killed daily in distracted driving crashes.

April is the month designated to raise awareness for the dangerous and potentially deadly results that can occur when a motorist engages in distracted driving.

AAA’s public awareness campaign hits the nail on the head. Side-by-side photos show a driver with a bottle of beer in her hand in one picture and a phone in her hand in the other.

“You don’t do that,” AAA says of the beer. “So why do this?” they ask of the phone.

It’s a powerful message.

Drivers know better than to toss back a drink on their way to a destination. With many smartphones equipped with a “do not disturb while driving” function, it should be a no brainer to turn that on.

Remove the temptation, stop the problem.

In Pennsylvania, the AOPC data shows that those in their 20s and 30s are the worst offenders, accounting for 64% of all citations filed in 2018 (36% in their 20s; 28% in their 30s).

Teens, the group many view as most attached to their devices, account for just 6% of the citations.

Our newest drivers need to keep it up – and perhaps remind their older siblings and parents to do the same.

There is some good news for Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties, though. Our four-county region accounts for 4.5% of the state’s total citations. Between 2014 and 2018, police cited 114 drivers in Fayette County, 41 in Greene County, 322 in Washington County and 354 in Westmoreland County.

We’re in far better shape than Montgomery County in southeastern Pennsylvania, which makes up 11.35% of the citations.

Over the last five years, police there cited nearly 3,000 drivers.

Allegheny County, just north of us, is second in the state. Police there cited 1,494 drivers – 8.09% of the state’s total.

While the fine isn’t huge – $50 plus court costs and fees – there’s no way to put a price tag on the risk distracted driving creates for pedestrians and motorists.

Drivers managed to muddle through with cellphones for way longer than they haven’t. Continuing to keep them in hand while on the road now isn’t worth the risk.