COLUMBIA – Gov. Mike Parson has proclaimed Tuesday, Oct. 29 as Buckle Up Phone Down Day in Missouri. Various activities are planned throughout the state.
Members of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety have teamed up with the Missouri Department of Transportation, the National Transportation Safety Board, the University of Missouri and StopDistractions.org to present a public event, the Missouri Roundtable of Distracted Driving: Act to End Deadly Distractions. The roundtable discussion will be presented in conjunction with the statewide Buckle Up Phone Down Day.
Distraction is a growing and life-threatening problem not only involving drivers, but pedestrians and bicyclists as well. Currently, 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands ban driver use of cell phones for texting. That leaves just two states, Missouri and Montana to address the issue. More solutions must be considered to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities caused by distractions, including education, legislation and enforcement. Every one of those distracted driving injuries was completely preventable.
WHAT: Missouri Roundtable on Distracted Driving
Buckle Up Phone Down Day Press Conference
WHO: A panel consisting of:
Susan DeCourcy, NHTSA
Flint Walton, Missouri Employers Mutual
John Hotz, MSHP
Curtis Perkins, Columbia PD
Kyreon Lee, KRCG
Steve Schone, AAA
Carrie Tergin, Mayor, Jefferson City
Richard Stone, Columbia Vision Zero
John Miller, FHWA
Jennifer Smith, StopDistractions.org
Lawrence Simonson, Columbia PedNet
Carlos Sun, MU
Nicole Hood, MoDOT
Penny Lorenz Anderson, ThinkFirst
and others.
Moderated by Bruce Landsberg, NTSB vice chairman
WHEN: Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Roundtable Discussion 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Buckle Up Phone Down Day Press Conference 12:45 p.m.
WHERE: Stotler Lounge, First Floor of Memorial Union
Campus of the University of Missouri
WHY: Eliminating distractions is on the NTSB 2019-2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements. Join the NTSB, MoDOT, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, StopDistractions.org and the University of Missouri to discuss strategies to prevent distracted driving.
For more information, visit MoDOT.org/BuckleUpPhoneDown.
###