Keep Wisconsin roads safe

Picture in your mind nine people.

They may be your family members, friends, neighbors, the nice couple with the unruly toddler who sits in the pew behind you at church on Sunday mornings, or the children who play down the block from your home.

Now imagine the world without those nine people in it. The next day, another nine are gone, with the pattern repeating the same each day after that.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on average 9 people are killed on America’s roadways every day due to inattentive driving — 3,308 people were killed in crashes due to inattentive driving in 2022 and those totals are continuing to climb.

This would be the equivalent to the entire population of Ladysmith or Lake Wissota being killed each year in entirely preventable ways.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies the following three kinds of distracted driving: Visual distractions that cause you to take your eyes away from the road. This can include everything from rubbernecking at a crash scene, eyeing up the scenery, reading billboards, or any other activity that keeps your eyes from the path in front of you.

Manual distractions which cause you to remove your hand from the wheel. This includes fiddling with the air conditioner or radio, drinking or eating or reaching to grab something while driving. This category also includes using your cellphone.

Cognitive distractions that can take your mind off driving. These include singing, talking, daydreaming about your weekend plans, or worrying about being late to an appointment or any other behaviors that keep you from focusing on getting to your location safely.

If you are getting behind the wheel, make sure you are mentally and physically able to operate the vehicle in a safe manner.

The common factor of fatal accidents involving inattentive driving is that they are entirely preventable. As drivers, we cannot control the weather, or if a deer jumps out of the ditch in front of us. This means we must do what we can to prevent crashes whenever possible.

As road construction season transitions into the start of a new school year, it is vital for all motorists to remember basic road safety skills. This is especially important this time of year as traffic patterns change with students, staff and parents heading to and from schools and school buses on the roads picking up and dropping off students.

As you hit the road on your morning commute, to run errands or a night out on the town, keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel and be alert to potential road hazards, pedestrians and other motorists.

Drive like your life and the lives of those you care about depend on it, because it does.