Minnesota Cracks Down on Distracted Driving

This post is part of a sponsored series. All thoughts are my own. 

You may have caught a few news casts recently that touched on the fact that Minnesota is cracking down on distracted driving. And really, it’s about time as we are averaging 47 deaths each year here in Minnesota due to cell phones and distracted driving, according to WCCO. So what are we going to do to tackle this quickly rising issue?

Well first off, it’s not just a Minnesota issue as you can guess. “Many states actually prohibit the use of hand held devices.” Explained our expert at this Colorado Chevrolet dealer. “Thanks to new technology, we can also help cut down on distractions along with the temptation to look at your phone while driving.”

And that’s the truth, there are so many new technological innovations that help to curb any distractions you might have. You can now use bluetooth to make or answer calls, to find directions or to change your music selection. It’s allowing you to do virtually anything you would need to do, without ever taking your eyes off the road.

You should also know that distracted driving isn’t limited to texting or talking on your phone. It ranges from putting on makeup, to eating cereal, reading over work documents or anything like that. Face it, you’ve probably seen a good amount of things driving that made you stop and shake your head. We can probably count those as a distraction.

With April being Distracted Driving Awareness month, The Minnesota Department of Public Safety will be fronting almost $440,000 to cover the expenses of extra coverage for officers and patrols for the month of April. They will be using extra patrols to crack down on this distracted driving initiative. Hopefully it will be enough to spark a little fear into drivers to take notice in their driving habits and be a little more cautious when on the roads.

Do your driving habits need a little re-examining? It might be time to think about how much time you’re spending with your eyes on the road versus what’s distracting you. You might just be surprised.