Distracted driving and beauty pageants?

Nothing in common right?   Well, actually there is and if Ms. South Dakota, Loren Vaillancourt wins Saturday’s Miss America beauty pageant, the new Miss America will have a very personal connection to the dangers of distracted driving.

In a story which is all too common, she lost her only sibling, her brother to an accident which involved distracted driving.   Her brother was on his way to conduct a waterfowl survey with his co-worker with the Fish and Wildlife Service, when apparently a phone was answered versus coming to a stop at an intersection and the vehicle he was riding in was broadsided by a semi truck.   An accident no doubt, tragic, but had the phone not been answered, a life might have been saved.

It is yet another example of why the most important thing you do when it comes to driving is turning off your phone.

Distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens.  According to the National Teen Driver Survey 90% of all teens survey state they have never drank and drive, yet 90% have seen either passengers distract a driver or the driver use a cell phone.

If Miss America is from South Dakota – we will have another strong public advocate speaking out against distracted driving.   We need more of it.

DefensiveDriving.com urges you to take the prudent course of action and hang up your phone!