To make April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month more effective, Terrell • Hogan is reminding schools, non-profits and employers that it offers free distracted driving presentations year round.
With distracted driving claiming 3,179 lives and injuring 431,000 in the U.S. in 2014, action is required to make the roadways safer for everyone. “Distracted driving is an epidemic,” said Wayne Hogan, president of Terrell • Hogan. “It’s not just about texting. Talking on the phone – even hands-free carries the same crash risk as drunk driving. Compounding the problem is newer vehicles with dashboard technology tempting us with constant, but dangerous, connectivity. Our message is simple: One text or call can wreck it all.”
To date, the Terrell • Hogan Distracted Driving Awareness Campaign has reached over 7,200 teens and adults on the First Coast through its presentations.
End Distracted Driving, a presentation for high school students, gives teens a focused understanding of the tragedies and faces of distracted driving, its legal consequences and offers strategies to combat it.  At the end of the talk, students can sign an anti-distracted driving pledge reminding them not to text or call or use their phone while driving.
 For the Workforce, the presentation for employers, non-profits and civic groups, delves into the consequences of distracted driving including civil liability for injuring or killing someone – and criminal charges. “Soon prosecutors in Florida can be expected to treat distracted driving like drunk driving. They are already getting manslaughter convictions when texting while driving causes a death,” Hogan said. Attendees are surprised to learn that if they are in a crash, their employer could be held liable if they made a work-related communication using their personal phone from their personal car.
The Terrell • Hogan Distracted Driving Awareness Campaign was inspired by the Casey Feldman Foundation and EndDD.org, in memory of Casey Feldman, a 21 year-old pedestrian who was killed in a crosswalk by a distracted driver. To schedule a free presentation call Terrell • Hogan at (904) 632-2424 or visit terrellhogan.com.