Distracted Driving Affects Everyone

PRINCETON, NJ, September 20, 2012 (Press-News.org) The numbers are staggering. Every day we share the roadways knowing we should be focused on the task at hand, yet a recent survey revealed 55 million drivers admit to driving while distracted. An estimated 9 percent of drivers (or 1.2 million) say they speak into either a handheld or hands-free mobile device and more than a quarter of the population admit to having texted while driving.

Statistics like these are why the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) sponsors Drive Safely Work Week each year during the first week of October. NAFA Fleet Management Association is proud to help promote the annual safety campaign, which takes place this year October 1-5, 2012.

Drive Safely Work Week encourages businesses to utilize a free campaign toolkit to help educate employees on how to prevent fatigued driving. The toolkit features facts on driving drowsy, interactive quizzes and tools, daily activities and communication messages, and downloadable posters for the office. Along with a focus on fatigued driving, NETS Drive Safely Work Week also looks at the importance of buckling your seat belt; staying distraction-free while driving; and parking safely, with awareness to your surroundings. The campaign materials are not dated and can be used throughout the year for continued promotion of safe driving practices.

Safe driving is essential to the fleet managers who belong to NAFA, a group that collectively manages millions of vehicles that travel on North American roads each day. NAFA has lent its support to the annual Drive Safely Work Week campaign for the past several years through a series of articles in the Association's print and online publications, press releases, and email blasts to the Membership.

Distracted driving is a problem that affects everyone, but simple reminders can make the solution just as widespread. Be sure to educate your employees on the dangers of distracted driving before it's too late.

The campaign toolkit may be downloaded for free at http://www.trafficsafety.org.

NAFA is the world's premier non-profit association for professionals who manage fleets of sedans, public safety vehicles, trucks, and buses of all types and sizes, and a wide range of military and off-road equipment for organizations across the globe. NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location or fleet composition. NAFA's Full and Associate Members are responsible for the specification, acquisition, maintenance and repair, fueling, risk management, and remarketing of more than 3.5 million vehicles including in excess of 1.1 million trucks of which 350 thousand are medium- and heavy-duty trucks. For more information visit http://www.nafa.org