Everett Alvarez students keep an eye on the road

Everett Alvarez students recently took part in a study to observe distracted driving on the road. They were able to watch first hand the myriad of occupations drivers engage in when they're supposed to have their hands on the steering wheel. One of them wrote a report about their findings. Here it is.

“My name is Shyla Poudrier and I am the Vice President of the ADAPT club at Everett Alvarez High School. ADAPT stands for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team. We are a co-branded club with the statewide program Friday Night Live. On October 15, 2013 our club participated in Road watch. Road watch is a statewide event where students survey drivers and observe if they are engaging in distracted driving.

This event took place on the corner of Independence Blvd. and Nantucket in Salinas, CA. from 7am to 8am. We observed that of 603 drivers 47 cars were engaging in distracted driving. Of the distracted drivers; 45 percent we using their cell phones in various ways, talking, texting, changing music, etc. Twenty-seven percent of driver driving distracted were eating or drinking. Nine percent of distracted drivers had either a pet on their lap or on the front seat. And lastly, 4 percent of distracted drivers were performing some type of personal grooming; ie, putting on makeup, brushing hair, etc.

These statistics were collected in just one hour. Road watch is a statewide event and the statistics showed us that there were more than 7, 000 documented cases of distracted driving throughout the state. These statistics allow us to be aware of distractions while driving that can not only harm us but other people in our community."

I hope being able to watch how people get distracted discourages you, Shyla, and your teammates from engaging in distracting behavior when you personally are behind the wheel. That would be the best result you could report.