Local transportation officials seek to put the brakes on distracted driving

BOWLING GREEN Ky.- Distracted driving, where one single second could mean life or death.

At the Bowling Green Motorsports park, a distracted driving seminar was held Friday to provide visuals on how devastating distracted driving is. The Public Information Officer of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 3, Wes Watt, says distracted driving poses a threat to those in his line of work.

“We are putting our trust in drivers that they’re going to be doing the right thing. That they’re not going to be driving distracted, that they’re going to be slowing down, that they’re going to be paying attention. Otherwise, somebody could get seriously hurt,” Watt said.

Traffic safety expert of the Traffic Safety Education Foundation, Andy Pilgrim, was the guest speaker of the event. A former racer from the United Kingdom, Pilgrim says he noticed a problem in the United States,  a problem involving preventable collisions.

“Preventable is the word. All I can do is try to educate as best I can and to help people understand how dangerous distracted driving is and how of out the normal is it relative to many other industrialized countries,” Pilgrim said.

One of pilgrim’s key points was how crucial the learning years of driving are.

“If you are a new driver, my biggest hope is that you’ll use all of your attention all the time you’re driving. For the first five years of driving, that’s the time you’ll be the most vulnerable,” Pilgrim said.

When it comes to the safety of road professionals and the general public, Pilgrim says safety, starts from the top.

“Children learn driving habits and behaviors from parents, from the moment they turn the child safety seat around to face front,” Pilgrim said.