From WRAL.com--
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Texting while driving is illegal in North Carolina, but on Wednesday, Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill police will allow drivers to use a simulator to test how texting and talking on cellphones impacts their driving.
The DriveSquare driving simulator will be available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the lobby of Fetzer Hall on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
Town leaders will hold a public hearing next Monday at Chapel Hill Town Hall on a proposed ordinance to ban cellphone use while driving.
Studies have shown drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. In 2009, nearly 5,500 people in the U.S. were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, and another 450,000 were hurt.
Data collected from the state Department of Transportation from 2004 to 2008 shows an average of 57,984 people a year are involved in crashes in North Carolina where distracted driving is a factor. More than 13,000 are injured and 119 die.
"They're just endangering lives, their life and innocent party lives," said Highway Patrol First Sgt. Tracy Coleman.
The North Carolina General Assembly voted in 2009 to make texting while driving illegal and troopers began issuing tickets in 2010 to drivers who violate that law. About 1,500 drivers have been cited.
----END ARTICLE---
Performance AutoMall is a proud sponsor of the awareness event. Former Chapel Hill Town Council Member Joe Capowsi has been a major advocate against texting while driving. Capowsi participated in a similar simulation in Alexandria, V.A. During this simulation, he said he got in to four wrecks. After seeing how texting while driving seriously affected his driving, Capowsi thought that such a simulation would be integral to bring to the Chapel Hill community to help them understand the dangers of distracted driving.
Photos:
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Texting while driving is illegal in North Carolina, but on Wednesday, Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill police will allow drivers to use a simulator to test how texting and talking on cellphones impacts their driving.
The DriveSquare driving simulator will be available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the lobby of Fetzer Hall on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
Town leaders will hold a public hearing next Monday at Chapel Hill Town Hall on a proposed ordinance to ban cellphone use while driving.
Studies have shown drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. In 2009, nearly 5,500 people in the U.S. were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, and another 450,000 were hurt.
Data collected from the state Department of Transportation from 2004 to 2008 shows an average of 57,984 people a year are involved in crashes in North Carolina where distracted driving is a factor. More than 13,000 are injured and 119 die.
"They're just endangering lives, their life and innocent party lives," said Highway Patrol First Sgt. Tracy Coleman.
The North Carolina General Assembly voted in 2009 to make texting while driving illegal and troopers began issuing tickets in 2010 to drivers who violate that law. About 1,500 drivers have been cited.
----END ARTICLE---
Performance AutoMall is a proud sponsor of the awareness event. Former Chapel Hill Town Council Member Joe Capowsi has been a major advocate against texting while driving. Capowsi participated in a similar simulation in Alexandria, V.A. During this simulation, he said he got in to four wrecks. After seeing how texting while driving seriously affected his driving, Capowsi thought that such a simulation would be integral to bring to the Chapel Hill community to help them understand the dangers of distracted driving.
Photos:
Categories:
Community Events