BY KEN FRANCIS, STAFF WRITER
Statistics show distracted driving accounts for at least one in four road accidents.
A survey by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis shows each day, nine people are killed and more than 1,000 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.
CentraCare Health - Monticello is working to lower those numbers.
“It’s one of our top priorities at CentraCare,” says Melissa Pribyl, community health and wellness specialist with CentraCare.
Last fall, CentraCare - Monticello passed a safe driving policy prohibiting employees from driving distracted while on work time, in a company vehicle or being reimbursed for company-related mileage.
They also want to get the word out to the community. Pribyl says they had a pedal car course at Monticello High School to show the dangers of distracted driving.
“They drive the regular route with no distractions, then we have them use their cell phone and try to text and drive,” she says. “It ust gives the young people the awareness of how something that seems so simple to them can really impair their driving ability.”
There are more types of distracted driving than just cell phone use, says Pribyl.
There are visual distractions, like looking at a baseball game at the side of the road or a deer in the field.
There are manual distractions that take a driver’s hands off the wheel, like reaching into the back seat to get child’s sippy cup, or reaching over into a purse on the passenger seat.
Cognitive distraction is typically associated with cell phone use. Pribyl says people use their phones even though most know it’s dangerous.
“Our smart phones affect our brains without us even being aware of it. When we get a call, a text or that little “ping” on our phone, our brains get a hit of dopamine, the chemical that leads to an increase in excitement and energizes that reward circuitry in our brains,” she says. “That anticipation of something more coming leads to an even higher increase in dopamine.”
It’s the way society and communication has changed that keeps people using their phones while driving.
“If you’re texting someone, you’re expecting instant answers because you know they always have their phone with them,” says Pribyl. “We’re used to instant gratification these days. It’s hard for us to avoid that temptation. That’s the world we live in, so people have to make the decision themselves to drive safely.”
Joni Pawelk, director of marketing and community relations with CentraCare Health - Monticello, says people in today’s society want to multi-task, and using a cell phone while driving is a common way to achieve that.
CentraCare’s new policy stops cell phone use for multi-tasking.
“It used to be if there was a conference call, there was kind of an unspoken expectation that you’re participating,” says Pawelk. “But if you allow people to multi-task while driving, you’re encouraging it.”
Pribyl says parents also have an obligation to lead by example. Kids do what they see their parents do.
“Drivers education begins the day a child’s car seat is turned around to face front,” says Pribyl. “Children are watching us every step of the way and modelling our behaviors.”
One way CentraCare will be bringing the message to the community is with a safe driving simulator.
Pawelk says the CentraCare Foundation recently donated enough funds for the facility to purchase the simulator.
“It has a steering wheel, computer monitor and a gas pedal,” says Pribyl. “You’re literally driving through a course and there are distractions that come in. It simulates that real life experience, but in a safe environment.”
She says she expects the simulator to be available by the start of the next school year, and be available for loan to schools, businesses and other community organizations.
Pawelk says it’s another way CentraCare can serve the community.
“Just a split second of distraction can be life and death,” she says. “CentraCare is dedicated to improving health in our community, and we know 80% of the factors that influence your health happen outside of our hospital and clinic walls.”
“It’s a good example where CentraCare can put its money where its mouth is,” says Pribyl. “We’re doing this for ourselves, the safety of the employees and the safety of the community.
For more information about the simulator, contact Pribyl at 763-271-2836.
