April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Which is somewhat ironic.   Ray LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation and the Department of Transportation have done a lot in the past few years to really bring focus to, regulation of and public education about, the dangers of distracted driving.   Mr. LaHood is now somewhat distracted himself from distracted driving given all of the recent negative press related to air traffic controllers sleeping and being distracted on the job themselves.

We have all heard about the air traffic controllers sleeping on the job, but did you also hear about the one who was watching a DVD?   The controller was caught when he inadvertently broadcast the movie audio over the closed channels between the tower and planes… yikes, I think he was a little distracted maybe?

But the issue of the controllers sleeping and being distracted are similar issues and the danger is the same, for driving.   Drowsy driving – falling asleep at the wheel, can have deadly consequences.   Similar to pilots and controllers, drivers need their rest.  Driving at night is particularly tricky.  Limited vision, oncoming lights, unseen hazards and fatigue all play a role in making the night time particularly dangerous to drive.

So maybe we all need to think a minute about how we react and plan, as I am sure the DOT will be doing with respect to the overnight shifts for air traffic controllers.

As the video below from DefensiveDriving.com’s award winning film and state approved defensive driving course illustrates, the night time is a dangerous time to drive.