8:23 AM, May 8, 2012
Too many teens in one car could be a deadly combination. That was the finding of a new study by AAA's foundation for Traffic safet.
The Great Hang Up Video
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About The Great Hang Up
At First Coast News, we've heard from you, our viewers, about your concerns regarding dangerous driving in Northeast Florida. In particular, distracted driving caused by cell phone use. We have seen too many stories about serious accidents that happen because someone is texting while driving. Texting while driving is dangerous, even deadly.
That's why First Coast News is proud to present
The Great First Coast Hang Up, presented by
Shands Jacksonville - Trauma One.
Here is what we would like you to do: Make a pledge to stop texting while driving. Or take it a step further to pledge to do your best not to use your cell phone at all while driving. Making a pledge could save your life or someone else's.
It's easy. Just click on the box to the right and print out
The Great First Coast Hang Up pledge. You can sign it and keep it in your car as a reminder. Ask your family, coworkers, congregation and clubs to do the same.
We encourage everyone - teens, schools, moms, dads, organizations and businesses throughout our community - to join the movement. Be part of
The Great First Coast Hang Up!
And after you've joined
The Great First Coast Hang Up, share your story with us about why you made the pledge.
Shands Jacksonville - TraumaOne want you to be part of The Great First Coast Hang Up
The region's only Level I trauma center, TraumaOne sees more patients from car crashes than from any other reasons combined. And with the rise in cell phone use and texting while driving, the number of accident victims passing through our doors is also rising.
Distracted driving is dangerous—and sometimes deadly. Studies by government agencies, universities and other organizations have the facts to back it up:
- Using a cell phone while driving can delay a person's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
- Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured.
- Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
- Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.
- Eighty percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involve some type of distraction.
The Great Hang Up Stories
5:48 AM, Apr 3, 2012
PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter used April Fools' Day to have a little fun with what he says is a real problem - distracted walking.
8:42 AM, Mar 29, 2012
Distracted Driving is clearly a problem for all ages but it's largest impact is on teens and it has a lot to do with their inability to put their phone down.
8:36 AM, Mar 29, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Students of Florida State College at Jacksonville got a sense of what it feels like to drive distracted with a simlauted program.
8:33 AM, Mar 19, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Drivers should watch out for increased police activity on the roadways in Atlantic Beach starting this week. Officers will be out in full force making sure you're buckled up.
8:32 AM, Mar 19, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- This Saturday is the deadline for students to enter a public service announcement contest for safe driving.
10:16 AM, Mar 6, 2012
PITTSBURGH -- Parents, are you worried about your kids driving a little too fast? Well, there's an app for that, kind of.
11:44 AM, Mar 5, 2012
DALLAS -- Texting and driving can be deadly, but many drivers don't think about how cellphones can injure them during a crash.
7:49 AM, Mar 5, 2012
AAA is offering a device that allows parents to set driving parameters for their teens vehicle.
7:09 AM, Mar 5, 2012
DALLAS, Texas - We've all heard that distracted driving can cause crashes, but there's another way your cell phone can injure you during a crash - one that most drivers probably haven't thought about.
7:00 PM, Mar 1, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Bolles High School hopes to educate students on the dangers of texting while driving with a simulated program.
7:34 AM, Feb 29, 2012
Rules requiring automakers to include rear-view cameras on new cars will be delayed until the end of this year.
12:26 PM, Feb 17, 2012
WASHINGTON -- The Transportation Department announced first-ever
guidelines aimed at preventing distracted driving that would eliminate
the ability to do a lot of infotainment functions while the car is
moving.
6:50 PM, Feb 14, 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida could be one step closer to installing cameras on school buses to catch stop arm violators.
5:49 PM, Feb 8, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- This morning several groups announced a video contest for teens to create a safe driving PSA.
6:52 PM, Jan 24, 2012
Inexperience is one of the biggest obstacles for teen drivers, but throw cell phones into the mix and it's a dangerous combination.
1:36 PM, Jan 10, 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- There are numerous bills being proposed related to distracted driving in the 2012 legislative session, but there are two bills that, at this point, seem to have the highest chance of passing.
5:58 AM, Jan 10, 2012
A program created by popular company OnStar is allowing users to check their Facebook accounts while behind the wheel, without using their cell phones. But is it safe?
7:15 PM, Jan 3, 2012
A new federal ban is in effect to keep commercial truckers and bus drivers from using cell phones while driving.
8:36 PM, Dec 29, 2011
WASHINGTON -- Federal accident investigators recommended states ban the use of cell phones and other electronic devices by all drivers except in emergencies.
6:18 AM, Dec 26, 2011
SAN DIEGO, Ca. -- We could be facing a nationwide crackdown on cell phones, but how do you stop people from talking or texting when they are behind the wheel? A new company is hoping to accomplish just that.
8:12 AM, Dec 20, 2011
PORT SAINT LUCIE, Fla. -- While teenagers are some of the fastest texters around, many are taking a pledge to give their fingers a break while behind the wheel.
8:03 AM, Dec 20, 2011
The number of cell phones in the United States sit at 300 million, which tops even the number of vehicles at 254 million. So, will a recommended ban on all cell phone use while driving work?
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered the Air Force to restrict
flights of its new F-22 stealth fighters because of continuing problems
with the aircraft's oxygen system.
8:13 AM, May 16, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 3-month-old from the Westside is in the hospital in critical condition.
9:24 PM, May 15, 2012
Police are looking for the husband of a bride who was found stabbed
to death in her bathtub on Sunday. She was still in the sequined
cocktail dress she wore to her wedding reception, police said.
6:00 AM, May 16, 2012
Community Steps Up To Help Family After Stolen Donations
6:06 AM, May 16, 2012
A bride in her wedding gown was found stabbed to death in her bathtub in
a southwest suburb of Chicago this weekend, according to police.
5:23 AM, May 16, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said a traffic
crash on Lane Avenue near Wilson Boulevard shut down the roadway for
several hours Wednesday morning, backing up traffic in the area.
9:11 AM, May 16, 2012
ABC News reports that it has obtained a copy of the three-page medical report listing injuries George Zimmerman allegedly suffered during his confrontation with Trayvon Martin.
8:28 AM, May 16, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville's Mayo Clinic and the Jacksonville
Sheriff's Ofice are investigating how close to three hundred pills have
disappeared from the hospital's medicine cabinet.
3:30 PM, May 15, 2012
Someone who may be posing as a police officer is pulling cars over on
Mississippi highways and then shooting drivers dead, authorities said.
2:14 AM, May 16, 2012