Idaho State Police talk distracted driving

One in three fatal crashes is due to distracted driving.

That’s according to statistics from the Idaho Transportation Department. To try to raise awareness about distracted driving, the Transportation Department is launching a state-wide campaign. The campaign will kick off with distracted driving awareness month on April 1.

According to the Idaho Transportation Department, distracted driving is one of the biggest causes of most accidents.

Distraction falls into three categories. One is visual, which is taking your eyes off the road. Another is manual, which is taking your hands off the wheel. Third is cognitive, which is taking your mind off the road.

Capt. Eric Dayley of the Idaho State Police said any of these types of distractions can be dangerous, especially at high speeds.

“On the interstate, with the speed limit at 80 miles per hour, you’re traveling 120 feet per second, roughly,” said Dayley. “And so if you look down for just that long, you’ve gone 120 feet down the road and that could be very dangerous, very problematic.”

In 2015, ISP issued 511 citations for inattentive driving. So far in 2016 they’ve issued 109. But Dayley said those numbers don’t include everything.

“It’s doesn’t encompass those that are also reflective of distracted driving or inattentive driving,” said Dayley.

Dayley said this is because it depends on the situation. Depending on what happened and the accident, the trooper determines which ticket is most appropriate to issue.

This means that other citations such as following too closely, are often results of distracted driving.

“The actual numbers of inattentive driving on the road is much higher than that,” said Dayley.

It’s also hard for ISP to get accurate numbers on texting while driving. Records show they issued 109 citations in 2015 for texting. So far in 2016 that number is 33. But Dayley said those numbers are actually much higher too.

“It’s hard for us to get a lot of texting while driving citations,” said Dayley. “We have to be in marked patrol cars. When people see a marked car, they put down their phone.”

So distracted driving is even higher than police can cite. But police say even if people think they got away with it, they have some advice.

“Just remember that 80 miles an hour is extremely fast, so anything you do that takes your eyes off the road can be very dangerous,” said Dayley.

Dayley said while talking on your phone while driving isn’t illegal in Idaho, it’s still distracting and dangerous. So he said if you must talk on your phone, to do it in hands-free mode so at least both hands remain on the wheel.

Dayley said other common types of distracted driving include eating while driving, playing with the radio and drowsy driving.

While they encourage attentive driving at all times, Idaho State Police are also encouraging drivers to be extra careful this weekend.

With LDS General Conference in Salt Lake City, many people from around the Pocatello area travel to Salt Lake for it.

This means there will be more cars than usual on I-15. Dayley said the more cars on the road, the more reason to be cautious.

Dayley said good advice to always remember is slow down, be courteous and most importantly, focus on getting to destinations safely.