For the past 10 years, April has been designated as “Distracted Driving Awareness Month” by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the month of October has replaced April for this year. The coordinated program was originally started by Shelley Forney, a mother and safety advocate whose 9-year-old daughter was struck and killed while riding her bicycle by a driver who was looking down at his cellphone. As Forney emphatically stated in numerous news reports, “she was only 15 pedals from home.”

Driving is an act most of us do every day without much thought or concern. We are all cognizant of the inherent risks associated with driving but often fail to realize that simple actions or inactions can greatly reduce or increase that risk. As drivers, it is our responsibility to understand how we can make the roads safer.