Making good decisions while behind the wheel

The numbers alone are staggering.

Beyond the nearly one-third of Minnesota’s 444 crash fatalities and 1,910 serious injuries tied to excessive speed and distracted driving in 2022 are stories of heartbreak – of birthday parties missed, traditions lost and relationships forever shattered.

In conjunction with April’s national Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Minnesota Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (MN NETS), with the support of a $35,000 grant from State Farm, has launched a comprehensive educational campaign intended to remind drivers that their actions have lasting consequences for those they love.

The campaign reminds everyone to “Slow Down. Pay Attention. Do it for THEM!”

“In recent years we’ve seen an increase in excessive speed. Combine this with distracted driving and you have ingredients for disaster on Minnesota roadways,” said Lisa Kons, coordinator, MN NETS.

“Drivers must recognize that their decision to speed or fall prey to cellphones or other distractions can have a devastating aftermath for children, partners, friends and colleagues.”

At the “Do It for ME/Do It for THEM” campaign’s core are five video vignettes underscoring the tremendous losses experienced by those left behind. To view the videos, go to https://drivesafemn.org/do-it-for-me-2/.

The program also includes fact sheets, safety talks and social media content to help State Farm agents, employers and others educate the public and their teams.

Across the U.S., distracted-driving crashes accounted for 8% of all fatal crashes, 14% of injury crashes and 13% of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021.

Also available are work zone safety education materials. MN NETS will mark Work Zone Safety Week April 13-19, with new resources on DriveSafeMN. Those resources are available at https://drivesafemn.org/work-zone-safety-2/.

Preliminary data shows between 2018 and 2022, 44 people died and 3,682 more were injured in work zone traffic crashes in Minnesota.

In 2021, the most recent year for which national data is available, 956 people died nationally in work zones, according to National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.