Sheriff's Dept. Preps Distracted Driving Program

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Created on Monday, 17 September 2012 14:57
Written by Joseph Peters

Sheriff's DepartmentAROUND THE NEK - The Caledonia County Sheriff's Department has received money to implement a distracted driving program at area schools.  The program, set to begin this year, will help students to understand the difference between focusing on the road and focusing on a phone.

 

 "I wanted to have something set up where students could have some involvement with law enforcement officers in a positive way," said Caledonia County Sheriff Dean Shatney in an interview.

The program - funded in part by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) and the Vermont Governor's Highway Safety Program (GHSP) - has allowed the Sheriff's Department to purchase two golf carts. The carts will be used at Lyndon Institute and St. Johnsbury Academy, where they'll receive a facelift - new paint job, new tires, the works.

"A lot of area businesses are jumping on board," Shatney said, "and they're helping fund it as well... They'll have their sticker on the side of the car, so it might look like a NASCAR by the time we're done."

Shatney named NAPA Auto Parts and St. J Auto as just a couple of the businesses on board with the program. Participating students will navigate the tricked-out golf carts through an obstacle course, first with their full attention on the road, and then while trying to send a text message. The department hopes that this exercise will illustrate the dangers of driving and texting.

"A lot of it is general distraction," Shatney said. "Not paying attention to the roads. I mean, stop signs, stop lights, pedestrians walking across the road."

The problem of texting and driving has drawn national attention. A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) have shown that sending or receiving a text distracts the average driver for 4.6 seconds. At 55 miles per hour, that 4.6 seconds is the length of a football field. A second study, conducted by Monash University, found that drivers using handheld devices were "4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves."

Texting while driving is illegal in the state of Vermont, and an officer can cite someone for texting while driving without observing any other offenses. Shatney acknowledged that it can be hard to prove that a driver is texting. Often, he said, the officer doesn't know that a driver was texting until after a crash occurs. That makes it even more crucial that young drivers are educated on the dangers of texting and driving.

"It's for the kids," Shatney said. "To let them get involved with the community, and to get the community involved with them."