The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), along with its highway safety partners statewide, is urging drivers to cut out distractions while driving this summer.
In 2020 there were more than 48,500 crashes in Florida caused by drivers who had diverted their attention. FDOT will be educating drivers on distracted driving prevention during this year’s peak summer travel months.
“In 2020, we saw far too many crashes in Florida caused by careless, dangerous, and selfish driving behavior that resulted in hundreds of fatalities,” said Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Terry L. Rhodes.
“As you drive this summer, respect your safety, respect the safety of your passengers, and respect the safety of other road users by eliminating all distractions and focusing on driving.”
FDOT offers the following tips to avoid distracted driving:
- Plan your trip before you hit the road to remove the need to adjust or program your GPS while driving
- If you need to eat or drink pull over to circumvent the need to remove your hands from the wheel
- Put your phone away
- Stay focused
FDOT’s Distracted Driving webpage has more information and resources at www.fdot.gov/agencyresources/distracteddriving
