Put Down The Phone, April Is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - How many times have you done this - looked down at your phone while driving to answer a call, or read a text, and almost run into the person in front of you.

Well, this month why not put down the phone while you're behind the wheel.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

"Focused attention on driving increases your reaction time to dangerous driving situations, helps to prevent crashes overall and saves lives," said Colonel Gene Spaulding, Director of the Florida Highway Patrol, in a statement.

In 2015, there were more than 45,700 distracted driving crashes in Florida resulting in more than 39,000 injuries and more than 200 fatalities, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Distracted driving crashes accounted for 12.2 percent of all crashes in Florida last year, 7.4 percent of fatal crashes and 15.4 percent of all injury crashes.

There are types of distracted driving; visual (taking your eyes off the road), manual (taking your hands
off the wheel) and cognitive (thinking about anything other than driving).

Texting requires all three categories, making it one of the most dangerous distracted driving behaviors.

Other distractions include talking on a cell phone, putting on makeup, reaching to comfort a child in
the back seat, eating, tuning the radio, checking a GPS navigation device or even daydreaming.

Almost 20,000 drivers under 30 were involved in a crash in 2015 in Florida from driving distracted.