Today, the United Nations takes up the issue of distract driving. The dangers of texting and driving are not unique to the United States. It is a world-wide problem. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and other dignitaries will launch a “Global Call To Action On Ending Distracted Driving”, an initiative to encourage drivers to put away their cell phones and other electronic devices while driving.
According to the World Health Organization, the annual world-wide death toll from automobile accident is more than 1.2 million people, or one traffic-related fatality every 30 seconds. This figure doesn’t include the 20 to 50 million people who are injured in automobile accidents annually.
The good news is that many of these deaths and injuries can be avoided. A large portion of these accidents are caused by distracted drivers. The Secretary-General’s willingness to spotlight this dangerous issue to the nation’s of the world is commendable and hopefully will encourage nations throughout the globe to crack-down on this epidemic.
