F. New Washington State Distracted Driving Law: When it comes to bad behavior on the road, distracted driving is one of the most common among Washington drivers. It’s also one of the most important habits to break. Talking on the phone makes a driver three times more likely to crash. Texting is even worse, making a driver 23 times more likely to crash.
Data show that fatalities from distracted driving in Washington increased 32 percent from 2014 to 2015, and one out of four crashes involve cell phone use prior to the crash. To help turn the tide on distracted driving, the State of Washington recently passed the Driving Under the Influence of Electronics Act (E-DUI), which prohibits the use of hand-held phones and other electronic devices while driving and restricts hands-free use to a single touch. While the law was previously planned to take effect in 2019, Governor Jay Inslee vetoed that part of the bill, and said the law would take effect in July 2017—16 months earlier than planned. Given the timing change, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) and wehad only five weeks to develop a campaign to prepare Washington drivers for the new law. The team quickly mobilized to develop a three-week integrated, multi-modal awareness campaign that successfully reached and engaged drivers across cultures, languages and regions of the state. The campaign, with the impactful tagline of, “On the Road. Off the Phone,” included website landing pages and social content/ads in six languages, materials for partners and law enforcement to share across the state, as well as a statewide radio and digital ad campaign.
Media relations efforts, which kicked off with a media event at the State Capitol with Governor Inslee garnered more than 2,200 news stories across the region and the country, earning more than 1.4 billion media impressions with a publicity value of more than $5 million. The media event itself included remarks by Governor Inslee, State Patrol, and family members of victims of distracted drivers, and included a distracted driving virtual reality simulator from AT&T to provide compelling media visuals and opportunities for reporters to deepen their stories.
