Focus Driven, a web site devoted to advocating for the victims of distracted drivers, recently announced the redesign of their website. With help from Allstate Insurance and other safety organizations, the new website dramatically points out the dangers of distracted driving by drivers who use cell phones or text while driving.

Focus Driven is devoted exclusively to advocating for the victims of distracted drivers by providing victims services and counseling. A goal of their website is to become the "primary national database of crash survivors, families of crash victims and other advocates" and in their words, "putting a human face to the science and statistics of distracted driving crashes."

As part of that effort, a heart wrenching feature of the website includes the individual stories of distracted driving victims and their families, including photos, bios, and the details of their death.

The organization recently held a Distracted Driving Summit in Illinois which featured US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, among others. Secretary LaHood said that distracted driving is responsible for at least 5,500 deaths and more than 450,000 injuries in the US. Focus Driven and the other sponsors are calling for legislation to ban the use of mobile communication devices while driving. According to Secretary LaHood, currently 30 states have banned texting while driving but only 8 have banned the use of hand-held cell phone use by drivers.

Focus Driven is unique in that its governing documents require that the governing board be made up exclusively of victims of distracted driving either directly or by the loss of a close relative.

For more information, visit the Focus Driven website at: http://www.focusdriven.org/

Labels: avoid distracted driving, cell phone, distracted driving, focused driven