Seventy-five people have died in car accidents in Iowa so far this year, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation and 317 died last year. Danielle Pettit-Majewski with the Washington County Traffic Safety Coalition says distracted drivers are more likely to be in a wreck. The Traffic Safety Coalition is promoting safe driving practices during this Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Lynn Fisher with the coalition explains teenage drivers learn from their parents, so they are focusing on asking adults if they are the driver they want their child to be.

The average text message takes a driver’s eyes off of the road for 4.6 seconds. In those 4.6 seconds, a car going 55 miles per hour travels about the length of a football field.

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