April is Distracted Driving Month in Florida

If you text or put on makeup while you’re driving, Florida law enforcement will be looking for you in April.

April is distracted driving month, so law enforcement around the state will be focused on catching drivers who aren’t paying attention to the road.

And it’s not just texting that’s the problem.

Simply reaching behind you to comfort a child in the back seat, eating, tuning the radio, or checking your phone’s navigation system can take your mind off the road long enough to lead to an accident.

In 2015, there were more than 45,700 distracted driving crashes in Florida resulting in more than 39,000 injuries and more than 200 deaths.

Distracted driving crashes accounted for over 12 percent of all crashes in Florida last year and over 15 percent of all crashes that lead to injuries.

There were 24 distracted driving crashes in Franklin County last year, 15 of which had injuries.

Gulf County had 19 distracted driving crashes, 11 led to injuries.

Franklin County has a distracted driving policy for county workers to make sure they are safe on the road.

The policy bans county workers from talking on radios or cell phones or texting while driving on county business.

The only exception is to make an emergency 911 call.

The policy requires that county workers pull off the road to a safe location before making or receiving any calls.

County employees who violate the policy can be subject to disciplinary action.

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