Grieving Parents Warn Students About Distracted Driving
Lakeville attorney Art Kosieradzki at Lakeville North High School to plead with the young adults to focus on only one thing when they get behind the wheel of a car: driving.
Kosieradzki emphasized that distracted driving is not just about cellphone use, but includes eating, grooming, drinking, smoking, adjusting the radio or other controls, reaching for objects in the car and any other activity that takes a driver's eyes, hands or mind from the task of driving. He called distracted driving an "epidemic" on American roads, and most students' hands went up when he asked if they have driven distracted or witnessed others doing so.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2011, 309,000 people were injured and another 3,331 people were killed in distraction-affected crashes.