Commissioner Jess. L. Anderson speaks at the virtual 2021 Zero Fataltities Summit. (Screengrab, Facebook)
SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly half of Utahns would sooner give up sex than their cell phones for a year, according to the Utah Department of Transportation at its annual 2021 Zero Fatalities Summit, which focused on distracted driving.
According to UDOT Executive Director Carlos Braceras, there are three types of distractions faced by drivers — manual, visual, and cognizant.
“Cognizant distractions deal with the task of listening, conversing, daydreaming, or just becoming lost in thought,” Braceras said. “In this form of distraction, the driver is mentally distracted.”
Utah drivers agree that distractions cause problems. A UDOT survey found that 80% of Utahns questioned believe distracted driving is the greatest cause of accidents.
Still, putting down one of the chief distractions — cell phones — apparently wouldn’t be easy.
“45% of folks said they would rather give up sex than their cell phone for a year,” Braceras said.
The numbers may convince Utah drivers to do as the Zero Fatalities program asks, and put away distractions behind the wheel. Some takeaways:
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Jess Anderson said that the above numbers are an indicator of the “reckless behavior that people are willing to put themselves in, and others.”
“It’s unacceptable,” he said.