AAA Northern New England, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, and other traffic safety advocates will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 2, between the Burton M. Cross Building and State House to celebrate Maine’s new anti-distracted driving law. LD 165, “An Act To Prohibit the Use of Handheld Phones and Devices While Driving,” was signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday, June 27, and requires that electronic devices used while driving be hands-free.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “about 3,000 people die and 400,000 are injured in the U.S. each year in crashes involving distracted driving.” Despite bans in 47 states, smartphone use behind the wheel is a common problem. New research released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety finds that even though 97 percent of drivers say texting or emailing while driving is a serious or very serious threat to their safety, 45 percent admit to having read a text or email while driving in the past month and 35 percent admit to typing one.
WHAT: Anti-distracted driving press conference
WHO: Pat Moody, AAA Northern New England, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, Colonel Cote and Lt Bruce Scott, Maine State Police
WHEN: 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 2, 2019
WHERE: Between the Burton M. Cross Building and State House
VISUALS: A crashed car that was involved in a distracted driving crash
AAA's TV PSA "Dont Drive Intoxicated Don't Drive Intexticated"
B-Roll of actual teen distracted driving crashes
AAA Campaign Graphics 1, 2, 3, 4
Maine Distracted Drivng Crash Video
CONTACT: Pat Moody pmoody@nne.aaa.com, or 207-838-8957