HJAR Jan/Feb 2025

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JAN / FEB 2025 33 Jennifer Dillaha, MD Director Arkansas Department of Health driving problems we’re facing. In 2022, 12% of crashes reported cell phones in use at the time of the crash. The National Safety Council (NSC) says crashes involving cell phones are under-reported, so it’s currently difficult to know howmany of those crashes are specifically due to texting while driv- ing. However, we do know it’s enough of a concern that 48 states, including Arkansas, now have laws banning texting while driving. Thankfully, there are apps that can be installed on your phone to discourage dis- tracted driving through cellphone use. The apps will block texts and phone calls while driving, and some apps even provide reward systems for drivers who refrain from using their cell phones while driving. I encourage everyone to practice caution and avoid driving while distracted, and for those who drink, don’t drive. Use a desig- nated driver or call for a cab or a ride share. May we all do our part to promote health and well-being inArkansas as we move into 2025. n REFERENCES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Im- paired Driving Facts.” Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/impaired-driving/facts/in- dex.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Dis- tracted Driving.” Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https:// www.cdc.gov/distracted-driving/about/index. html National Highway Traffic Safety Administra- tion. “Drunk Driving.” Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk- driving National Highway Traffic Safety Administra- tion. “Drug-Impaired Driving.” Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drug- impaired-driving National Safety Council. “Cell Phone Distracted Driving.” Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https://www.nsc. org/road/safety-topics/distracted-driving/cell- phone-distracted-driving Toward Zero Deaths. “Impaired Driving.” Arkan- sas Highway Safety Office. Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https://tzdarkansas.org/programs/alcohol-and- drug-countermeasures/ U.S. Department of Transportation. “Impaired Driving Laws, Enforcement, and Prevention.” Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www. transportation.gov/mission/health/Impaired- Driving-Laws-Enforcement-and-Prevention National Safety Council. “Impairment Begins With the First Drink.” Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https://www.nsc.org/road/safety-topics/ impaired-driving National Road Safety Foundation. “Impaired Driving Spikes During the Holiday Period, Mak- ing Our Roads and Highways More Danger- ous.” Press Release, Nov. 18, 2021. https://www. nrsf.org/sites/default/files/press-releases/nrsf- 11162021-holiday-time-impaired-driving.pdf Spivak, R. “Don’t Hold Your Breath: Furthering the Fight Against Drunk Driving Until Autono- mous Vehicles Arrive.” Harvard Law School Jour- nal on Legislation, Nov. 11, 2017. https://journals. law.harvard.edu/jol/2017/11/11/ignition-interlock- devices-drunk-driving/ Bureau of Transportation Statistics. “State Laws on Distracted Driving – Ban on Hand-Held De- vices and Texting While Driving.” Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https://www.bts.gov/content/state-laws- distracted-driving-0 National Highway Traffic Safety Administra- tion. “Traffic Safety Facts: Distracted Driving in 2022.” Report No. DOT HS 813 559. 2023. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/View Publication/813559 DMV.org. “Apps to Fight Distracted Driving.” Accessed Dec. 1, 2024. https://www.dmv.org/ distracted-driving-apps.php American Academy of Family Physicians. “Dis- tracted Driving: Patient Education Tips.” Fam- ily Practice Management 24, No. 3 (May/June 2017): 12-16. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/ issues/2017/0500/p12.html to have a conversation with their patients about their drinking habits. Screening can help reduce the number of drinking and driving accidents. Although impaired driving caused by al- cohol or drugs has been a long-standing highway safety issue, distracted driving has increasingly become a problem, too. The NHTSA reports that distracted driving is now the leading cause of car crashes in the U.S. Distracted driving is any activity that takes a driver’s attention off the road. This can include texting, eating, talking on the phone, or using the car’s entertainment and navigation screen. The CDC lists three types of distracted driving: visual, manual, and cognitive. Visual distracted driving involves taking your eyes off the road; manual dis- tracted driving is taking your hands off the wheel; and cognitive distracted driving is letting your focus wander. In the U.S., nine people a day are killed in crashes involving distracted driving, and 1 in 5 of those victims were pedestrians, bicy- clists, or were outside of a vehicle. In 2022 alone, the NHTSA estimated 3,308 people were killed and roughly 290,000 injured in crashes involving distracted driving. Arkan- sas saw a 43.7% increase in fatal crashes in- volving pedestrians between 2017 and 2022 due to distracted driving. Distracted driving involving cellphone use is one of the more concerning distracted “It’s important for physicians to have a conversation with their patients about their drinking habits. Screening can help reduce the number of drinking and driving accidents.”