Pittsburgh, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and AAA East Central remind students to “Park the Phone” in an effort to combat distracted driving crashes in the region as part of April’s National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

“Unfortunately, we often see motorists paying more attention to their cell phone, than the road ahead,” said PennDOT district executive, Cheryl Moon-Sirianni. “Teens create driving habits as soon as they get behind the wheel and knowing the dangers of distracted driving may help them avoid the bad habit.”

“Park the Phone” is a campaign created by PennDOT to remind motorists and pedestrians to avoid distractions while on the roadway. The number one distraction for young drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 years old, is cell phone use.

As part of the campaign, students from Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School and Pittsburgh Technical College will collect pledges to not text and drive with “Park the Phone” pledge cards, which will be displayed in their respective schools as a reminder to all students, faculty and staff.

“Distracted and DUI crashes can be just as deadly, and should be thought of that way,” said Theresa Podguski, director of legislative affairs, AAA East Central. “Any activity that takes a driver’s attention away from the road can have dangerous consequences.”

The safety partners also remind the motoring public that cell phone use is not the only distraction while driving. Distracted driving is engaging in any activity that takes your attention away from the road. This behavior becomes a risk for the distracted motorist, their passengers, surrounding drivers and pedestrians.

Other common distractions include reaching for objects inside the vehicle, eating and drinking, changing settings in the vehicle, brushing hair or applying makeup, and over-engaging with passengers, to name a few.

According to PennDOT data, since 2016 Pennsylvania has seen a steady decrease in distracted driving crashes yearly. However distracted driving remains a leading factor in statewide crashes.

Locally, from 2015 to 2019, there have been 10,108 distracted driving crashes in the Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence County region, with 27 fatalities.

Additionally, during the same time frame there have been 2,916 crashes involving 16 and 17-year-old drivers in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence County region, with 10 fatalities.

For more information on distracted driving, visit www.PennDOT.gov/safety.

For regional twitter updates, visit 511PAPittsburgh.

MEDIA CONTACT: Yasmeen Manyisha, 412-429-5044

# # #