Working On Wellness

WELLNESS TIP

 

 

 

Put the brakes on texting and emailing while driving! Thousands are killed each year in the U.S. by this dangerous habit.

 

 

 
According to U.S. health officials, one in three drivers in the United States admits to having sent a text or email while behind the wheel. This is an alarming statistic, considering that in 2011, 3,000 people were killed and another 300,000 were injured in car crashes that involved distracted driving. Americans are much more likely to use cell phones while driving than residents of the United Kingdom and other European countries. According to a survey sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than two-thirds of American drivers said they use their phone while driving, compared with 21 percent in the United Kingdom, and nearly twice as many as in Spain. No ifs ands or buts: Drivers should put their cell phones away when they get behind the wheel and drive distraction-free, advised report author Rebecca Naumann, a CDC epidemiologist. It’s also important for parents to model safe driving for teenagers, she added. CDC director Tom Frieden, MD, said a cell phone in a car can be a fatal distraction. For more information visit www.clevelandclinicwellness.com 

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