Are You a Distracted Driver?

About one in nine Pennsylvania car crashes in the past five years, according to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, has involved someone multitasking behind the wheel.

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the agency is using the occasion to push publicly for Pennsylvania drivers to keep their attention on the road.

The state has since March 2012 prohibited text-messaging behind the wheel, an offense that warrants a $50 fine. But PennDOT also defines a "distracted driver" as someone doing any of the following:

• talking on a cell phone
• eating
• grooming
• adjusting devices such as radios and GPSs
• attending to children or pets
• interacting with other passengers in the vehicle

PennDOT data show that 57 people died in more than 14,600 distracted-driving crashes in 2012. About 11 percent of crashes in the past five years have involved distracted driving. More than 300 people died in those accidents, according to PennDOT.

The agency recommends the following steps for drivers aiming to be less distracted:

• Pull over to make phone calls, attend to children or pick up something you dropped
• Set GPS, radio and temperature controls before you leave
• Restrain pets properly, if they must be in the car

More information on distracted driving and the state’s anti-texting law is available at www.JustDrivePA.com.

Which distracted-driving practices are you most often guilty of? Which are the biggest problems you see among other motorists? Please tell us in the comments section below.