WASHINGTON, DC—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is putting its foot down on distracted driving this month. With April being Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the NHTSA is launching its “Put the Phone Away or Pay” campaign to highlight the dangers of distracted driving, particularly among young people.

The campaign, running from today through April 14th, will feature high-visibility enforcement of state distracted driving laws nationwide, targeting drivers aged 18 to 34. This age group is most likely to die in distraction-related crashes, according to NHTSA data. The campaign will be supported by a $5 million national media buy in English and Spanish across television, radio, and digital platforms.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Steven G. Bradbury initiated the campaign at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters. “Distraction-related deaths and injuries take a major toll on our country, likely much bigger than we have realized, and we need to make a meaningful dent in this problem,” Deputy Secretary Bradbury said. “Through increased traffic enforcement, alongside NHTSA’s research, education efforts, and high-visibility enforcement mobilizations, we will continue to tackle this pervasive problem.”

The ads will emphasize the deadly consequences of even a moment of distraction while driving. Distracted driving can take many forms, from texting and looking up addresses to using social media or anything that takes a driver’s attention away from the road. “Taking your eyes and mind off the road for even a second could have devastating consequences,” warned NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser.

The NHTSA also released new data on distraction-related crashes in 2023. According to the data, 324,819 people were injured and 3,275 were killed in such crashes, representing 13% of all crashes. An additional 611 pedestrians were killed due to distracted driving.

However, the NHTSA believes these figures are underreported. A 2023 study found that distraction played a role in 29% of all crashes in 2019, leading to 10,546 fatalities, 1.3 million nonfatal injuries, and $98.2 billion in economic costs.

The NHTSA is urging drivers to “Put the Phone Away or Pay” and is working with states to improve the collection of distracted driving data to better understand the scope of the problem.

More in the video below.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

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