Update #1, 01/05/2015: Between December 14 and 28, 2015, the Gwinnett County Police Department coordinated high visibility enforcement and educational details to address distracted driving and pedestrian safety.  A total of 13 agencies and 211 officers participated in this effort. 

Listed below are all the agencies that contributed:

• Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office
• Gwinnett County Fire Department
• Georgia State Patrol
• Auburn Police Department
• Suwanee Police Department
• Lawrenceville Police Department
• Snellville Police Department
• Lilburn Police Department
• Norcross Police Department
• Duluth Police Department
• Georgia Gwinnett College
• City of Buford
• Gwinnett County School Police

Listed below are the contacts made by all participating agencies:

• Citizen Contacts:                                             1,988
• Educational Flyers Provided to Citizens:           922
• Pedestrian Citations/Warnings Issued:              298
• Distracted Driver Citations/Warnings Issued:     323

The Accident Investigation Unit (AIU) responded to one fatality accident.  This accident occurred on December 16 when a 34-year old male was struck and killed while riding his skateboard across Peachtree Industrial Boulevard near Tench Road.  The incident occurred at night during the rain.  The driver was not cited or charged. 

The Gwinnett County Police Department would like to thank all the participating agencies.  This detail could not have been as successful without their assistance. 

To the media:  Thank you for helping us deliver this important education to your audience. 

Original, 12/07/2015: The Gwinnett County Police Department will be conducting high visibility enforcement and educational details to address distracted driving and pedestrian safety over the holiday season.  The two week detail will begin on December 14^th and conclude on December 28^th.   We have invited local agencies to join together with us to educate the motoring public and pedestrians about the dangers of distracted driving and pedestrian safety.  The kickoff meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at the Gwinnett County Police Headquarters (770 Hi Hope Road, Lawrenceville).

The detail will consist of the following:

• Enforcement by our Motor Unit, the DUI Task Force, and District Community Response Teams at high accident locations and high volume roadways

• Educational flyers distributed to pedestrians in the areas of Pleasant Hill Road, South Norcross Tucker Road, and surrounding areas

• Educational programs conducted by our Crime Prevention Unit

• Media releases educating citizens about the dangers of distracted driving

In summary, our goal is to save lives and prevent tragedies over this holiday season.

National Data: 

• National Statistics for distracted driving are increasing at an alarming rate.  According to stoptextsstopwrecks.org, over 424,000 people were injured in car accidents nationwide in 2013.  In 2013, ten percent of all drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.  For drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes, 15 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones.

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 32,675 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2014. 

• Drunk driving crashes continue to represent roughly one-third of fatalities, resulting in 9,967 deaths in 2014.

• Nearly half (49%) of passenger vehicle occupants killed were not wearing seat belts.

• Pedestrian deaths rose by 3.1 percent from the previous year. In 2014, there were 726 cyclists and 4,884 pedestrians killed in motor vehicle crashes.

• Distracted driving accounted for 10 percent of all crash fatalities, killing 3,179 people in 2014.

• Fatigued driving accounted for 2.6 percent of all crash fatalities. At least 846 people died in these crashes in 2014.

State of Georgia Data:

• According to the Governor’s Office of Highway safety, Georgia has the third-highest rate in the nation for drivers who text on cell phones while behind the wheel.

• In a state survey, 37% of drivers admitted they actually text while driving. 

• Several other activities have been found to be just as distracting at texting.  This includes:  Reaching for a moving object (increases crash risk by 9 times); looking at an object outside the vehicle (increases crash risk by 3.7 times); reading (increases crash risk by 3 times); grooming or applying makeup (increases crash risk by 3 times); using a hand-held device like a GPS (increases crash risk by 3 times); talking or listening to a hand-held cell phone (increases crash risk by 1.3 times); drowsiness/tired driver behind the wheel (increases crash risk by 4 times).

Gwinnett County Data:

• In 2015, Gwinnett County Police Officers completed over 27,000 accident reports in unincorporated Gwinnett.

• The Gwinnett County Police Department’s Accident Investigation Unit has responded to a total of 97 fatality/serious injury call-outs in 2015. Of the 97 call outs, 53 have been fatality accidents.  Eleven (11) of those have been DUI related.

• The majority of the fatality accidents have been for failure to maintain lane, failure to yield, and failure to obey a traffic control device.  Several of these accidents have been caused by distracted driving in one form or another. 

• Of the 97 call-outs, 15 have been pedestrian accidents.  Of those 15, 8 have been fatal.  Fourteen (14) of the 15 pedestrian accidents were the fault of the pedestrian.  Of the 8 that have been fatal, 7 have been the fault of the pedestrian. Of the 7 that have not been fatal, all 7 were the fault of the pedestrians. 

• Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services personnel have responded to over 200 pedestrian v. vehicle incidents this year.   The majority of the pedestrian accidents were due to violations of the following: pedestrian under the influence, pedestrian in the roadway, pedestrians not crossing at a crosswalk, and crossing against a do not cross sign. 

• In the past three years, the Gwinnett County Police Traffic Motor Unit has issued 4,638 distracted driving citations.  The majority of these have been for texting.  (2013: 2072 citations; 2014: 1349 citations; 2015: 1217 citations).   Note: Georgia code sections 40-6-241.1 and 40-6-241.2 cover these offenses.

For more information, please visit these sites: 

http://www.nhtsa.gov/

http://www.distraction.gov/

http://stoptextsstopwrecks.org/

http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/