New York Summit Convened Key National Experts On Distracted Driving
VALHALLA, N.Y., May 7, 2014 — Legislation passed recently across the country – and even societal norms - have made a dent in the phenomenon of distracted driving, but there’s a long way to go. That was the consensus of a series of blue-ribbon panels at the New York Distracted Driving Summit at the Westchester Medical Center today conducted by AT&T, StopDistractions.org and Distracted Operators Risk Casualties (DORCs).
“Our objective for this summit was to spark conversation on how to achieve the next level of progress in the fight against distracted driving,” said Jennifer Smith, founder of the StopDistractions.org. “Although awareness about the dangers of distracted driving has increased substantially, this national epidemic has continued, and it’s time to end this destructive behavior.”
According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each day in the U.S., more than nine people are killed and more than 1,060 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.
Over the day a series of five panels of experts, local law enforcement officials and media each presented their successes and obstacles in understanding and educating the population as well as implementing and enforcing distracted driving laws.
This was the first distracted driving event to live stream over the internet and include remote interaction using twitter to pose questions to the panel.
The summit included remarks from a representative of Governor Cuomo’s office; Ben Lieberman, Executive Director of DORCs (Distracted Operators Risk Casualties) and Marissa Shorenstein, New York President, AT&T.
“New York State is a recognized leader in combatting distracted driving,” said Marissa Shorenstein, New York President, AT&T. “Today’s ground-breaking summit captures the state’s commitment.” AT&T created the “It Can Wait” campaign in 2012 and has enlisted more than four million people to take the pledge to never text and drive.”
Ben Lieberman, Executive Director of DORCs added “People need to focus on the lives in their hands and not the phone.”
For more information, contact Jennifer Smith at jsmith@stopdistractions.org or watch the entire event at www.stopdistractions.org/nysummit2014.
