MEDIA ADVISORY – THURSDAY STORY                                                                              

Are You ‘Intexticated?’

AAA Oklahoma Launches Initiative Equating Distracted Driving to Drunk Driving

WHAT:               AAA in Oklahoma City is launching a multi-year initiative to reduce deaths and injuries resulting from electronic device use by drivers as the culmination of the 2019 Oklahoma Traffic Safety Forum and National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

“Don’t Drive Intoxicated – Don’t Drive Intexticated” is AAA’s multimedia traffic safety campaign created to make distracted driving as socially unacceptable as drunk driving.

Video of the two campaign Public Service Announcements (Password: Intexticated)

https://vimeo.com/283520390

https://vimeo.com/261524390

WHEN:            Thursday, April 25 – presentation at 1:30; arrive by 1:15 for setup.

                        Interview opportunities follow.

WHERE:         1 N. Broadway, outside Sheraton Hotel with display of vehicle mangled in distracted

                        driving crash and banner for signatures of those attending who pledge to not drive

                        distracted

                        Media parking in Sheraton Hotel’s circle drive

WHO:              Speakers:

• Shawn Irie whose wife and 2 grandchildren were killed by a distracted driver
• Major Garrett Vowell, Oklahoma Highway Patrol
• Leslie Gamble, AAA Oklahoma

WHY:              Distracted driving kills an average of nine people and injures 1,000 each day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

35 people died in Oklahoma due to distracted driving wrecks in 2017; More than 8,600 crashes were attributed to distracted driving. And these numbers likely underestimate the problem because most drivers do not admit to distracting cell phone use after a crash. Studies by The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety demonstrate:

• Drivers interacting with cell phones to perform tasks like texting or surfing the Internet are two to eight times more likely to be involved in a crash.
• Taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles your chances of being involved in a crash.
• 59 percent of all teen crashes involve some form of driver inattention, and 12 percent of teen crashes involve cell phone use.

Media Resources:

For more information and tips for how motorists can avoid distracted driving and to take the Don’t Drive Intexticated pledge, visit www.AAA.com/DontDriveDistracted

Media outlets and reporters, please follow AAA Oklahoma on Twitter @AAAOKNews and help spread the word on this important traffic safety issue with the hashtag #DontDriveIntexticated