NFL Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre combats distracted driving in Arkansas

NFL Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre combats distracted driving in Arkansas

Former football star warns about dangers associated with distracted driving in Arkansas in new PSA

Property Casualty Insurers Association LITTLE ROCK —NFL legend Brett Favre is warning about the dangers of distracted driving in a new public service announcement featured on the airwaves in Arkansas. Favre teamed up with the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Arkansas, Inc to encourage the public to put the phone down and focus on the road.

According to a recent study about safe driving, 39 percent of drives in Arkansas contain at least one distracted driving event.

Preliminary data from the National Safety Council estimates that more than 40,000 people across the country died in motor vehicle crashes for a second consecutive year in 2017.

According to NHTSA in 2015, 225 of the 556 fatal crashes in the state were caused by distracted driving.

In Arkansas, there is currently a partial handheld ban, but not a full ban.

“As a quarterback in the NFL, if I didn’t stay focused, I ended up on my back or worse. Even the smallest distraction could make a good play or offensive drive come to an end,” Favre said in the PSA. “When you’re in a car, the smallest distraction could end much more than a drive, it could end someone’s life. Just like I refused to lose on the field, I refuse to lose someone I love to distracted driving, and you should too.”

According to research done by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, individuals who used text messaging increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by two times and resulted in drivers taking their eyes off the road for an average of 23 seconds.

“Putting down our phones and staying focused on the road can prevent accidents. We need to commit to doing that, and we need to urge our loved ones to do the same,” said Dina Bates, vice president of products & education for Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Arkansas, Inc.

“It’s not just talking and texting that are diverting our attention anymore; increasingly, drivers are surfing the web, engaging on social media, and using apps. Amazingly, YouTube is one of the top 10 apps that people are using while driving, according to TrueMotion, a technology company that tracks driving habits. Pedestrians and bicyclists also are increasingly distracted by smartphones, putting everyone on the road in greater danger,” said Joe Woods PCI vice president of state government relations at PCI.

PCI (Property Casualty Insurers Association of America) is composed of nearly 1,000 member companies, representing the broadest cross section of insurers of any national trade association. PCI members write $216 billion in annual premium, 36 percent of the nation's property casualty insurance. Member companies write 43 percent of the U.S. automobile insurance market, 29 percent of the homeowners market, 34 percent of the commercial property and liability market and 36 percent of the private workers compensation market.

From Dan Bank