Distracted driving is dangerous and prevalent on Nebraska's roadways.
In 2016, there were more than 4,000 distracted driving crashes in the state; that's 29 percent higher than five years ago.
“If you look around, everybody is on their phone,” said Susan Booth, Vice President, National Safety Council Nebraska.
The organization launched a new campaign today called "Distracted Driving Affected Me"; it showcases Nebraska families whose lives have been changed forever by a distracted driver.
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“The first goal is to get people to put their cell phone down,” said Eric Koeppe, president of the National Safety Council Nebraska.
The campaign shares the stories of realfamilies in hopes that people will stop distracted driving.
“This is a real problem that is affecting everyone every single day,” Booth said. “The minute you get behind the wheel and you make a decision to be on your phone, talk on your phone, text on your phone, crazy to do selfies or Snapchatting.”
They also hope the campaign helps change state law, making distracted driving a primary offense, meaning "if they saw you texting in the car, they could pull you over and give you a ticket at that time,” Koeppe said.
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“Currently, the law is secondary enforcement, meaning an officer can see you texting and driving but needs to pull you over for some other reason," Koeppe said.
“It’s going to affect somebody,” Booth said. “It might not be you but it might be somebody else in another vehicle.”
