Late last month, Red Bank Police Sgt. Rusty Aalberg spoke to Hamilton County’s Advisory Council on Traffic Safety about an issue that has touched families in every part of the Chattanooga area: distracted driving.
Each year, distracted driving causes about a quarter of all car accidents in the United States, the National Safety Council reports. In 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed and another 391,000 were injured in distraction-related crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed.
Aalberg’s presentation was part of the Red Bank Police Department’s new distracted driving prevention program, which Aalberg started in February after receiving a grant from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office.
While texting is often the culprit in distracted driving incidents, he reminded ACTS meeting attendees that cellphones aren’t the only danger. Any activity that takes commuters’ attention away from the act of driving is considered a distraction, Aalberg said. That includes eating or drinking, applying make-up, or adjusting on-board entertainment systems like the radio while behind the wheel.
Sgt. Rusty Aalberg stands next to the logo for Red Bank Police Department’s new distracted driving prevention program. The logo was created by Red Bank High School student Mya Kennebrew, who won the design contest orchestrated by officers and the school’s art teacher. Mya will be awarded with a plaque for her design work at an upcoming Red Bank Chamber of Commerce meeting. (Staff photo by Myron Madden)“I see it every day,” said ACTS Chairman Chester Bankston, who also represents District 9 on the Hamilton County Commission. “It’s not just a few people; it’s all of us. We need to really look at what we’re doing when we’re driving a motor vehicle that could kill somebody instantly. We need to do better.”