Are you aware?

 Are you aware quite how dangerous getting distracted while driving is?

That's the question that police across Northamptonshire will be asking next week in support of Brake's national Road Safety Week which starts on Monday, November 18. The aim of the initiative is to highlight the risks to all road users - drivers, bikers, cyclists and pedestrians - of being involved in a road traffic collision as a result of being distracted. People can be distracted when using a mobile phone, using headphones, applying make up, eating and drinking.

Sergeant Mark Pointer said: "Driver distraction is a major cause of death and serious injury in the UK. Driving is the most dangerous thing that most of us do on a daily basis and requires full attention, but many drivers have a sense of over-confidence and attempting to multi-task is common."

"As well as using a mobile phone while driving, other distracting activities such as eating or smoking at the wheel have also been shown to increase the risk of crashing, yet lots of drivers admit to doing this. Distraction isn’t just an issue for drivers, for people on foot or on a bicycle, being sidetracked by a mobile telephone, or not being able to hear due to listening to music, or forgetting to hold a child's hand, can be lethal."

"Officers from across the county and from different departments will all be keeping their eyes on the road and we have various activities taking place such as talking in schools, using the safety camera and targeting offenders."

Inspector Jen Helm said: "This is all part of our committment to make Northamptonshire's roads as safe as possible. We want to raise awareness of this issue - that a momentary distraction could potential cause a serious, or even fatal, accident. We will also be using all the powers at our disposal to clamp down on those breaking the law."

Images:

One of the force's road saftey camera vans

The 'Worth Dying For?' poster