April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program (GMSP) is encouraging drivers and motorcyclists to steer clear of distractions and pay attention to the road.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) latest distracted driving report in 2022, there were 3,308 people killed and 289,310 people injured in distraction-affected motor vehicle crashes. 

DDS Commissioner Spencer R. Moore commented, “Distracted Driving is defined as any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving.  Distracted driving not only endangers the safety of the driver, their passengers, and additional traffic but bystanders on the roads as well.” 

The average time your eyes are off the road while texting is five (5) seconds, the same amount of time to drive the length of a football field at 55 mph.  The three main types of distractions causing a driver to divert their attention from driving are:

  • Visual distractions – Driver looking away from the road.
  • Cognitive distractions – Driver takes their mind off the road.
  • Manual distractions – Driver takes their hand off the wheel.

NHTSA’s April campaign recommends the following Put the Phone Away or Pay | Distracted Driving | NHTSA:

  • If you have to text, pull over to a safe location and park your car — only then should you read or send the text message. 
  • Distracted driving isn’t just texting, scrolling through social media or messaging while driving is distracted driving too.
  • Speak up if you see someone texting and driving and ask them to put their phone away.
  • Appoint your passenger as the “designated texter” to respond to calls or messages.

Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program (GMSP)

In addition to offering rider education and licensing programs, the Georgia Motorcycle Safety Program (GMSP) also promotes motorist awareness programs, Share the Road campaigns, and is focused on highway safety issues affecting Georgia motorcyclists. The GMSP directly operates training sites throughout Georgia by providing low cost, professional training to assist riders in improving their skills through the following:

All motorcycle safety class information, registration and complete driver licensing and issuance information can be found online at www.dds.georgia.gov.