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Lake in the Hills, Il – In an effort to make our roads safer, the Lake in the Hills Police announced today that it has joined the “One Text or Call Could Wreck It All” campaign to stop distracted driving. The Lake in the Hills Police Department has pledged its support to help spread the message that distracted drivers are not only a danger to themselves, but everyone else on the road.

“We all know that talking on our cell phones while driving is distracting, but that doesn’t stop most people from continuing to do it,” said Sergeant Eric Decker, Supervisor of the Lake in the Hills Police Traffic Unit. “This effort is intended to educate our community about the dangers of cell phone use and other distractions while driving. We hope that once people see the statistics and realize the danger involved, they will change their driving habits to help protect themselves, their families, and others on the road.”

In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 424,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver. That same year, eleven percent of fatal crashes were reported as distraction-affected crashes.

While anything that takes your eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, or mind off the task of driving is a hazard, there is heightened concern about the risks of texting while driving because it combines all three types of distraction – visual, manual and cognitive.

The national distracted driving effort focuses on ways to change the behavior of drivers through legislation, enforcement, public awareness and education – the same activities that have curbed drunk driving and increased seat belt use.

Lake in the Hills campaign will be conducting a distracted driving enforcement campaign this month in order to raise awareness with the dangers of distracted driving and make the roadways safer.

“Every driver in Lake in the Hills has a role in this effort,” said Sergeant Decker. “However, we especially want to reach out to parents with teen drivers because we know that statistically, the under-20 age group had the highest proportion of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes.”

Lake in the Hills goal with this campaign is simple – save lives by getting drivers to remember that “One Text or Call Could Wreck It All.”