Disney gets involved in a lot of lobbying within Florida and in D.C., but it’s usually related to travel or employment issues. Their latest outreach effort is a bit of a stretch, but there is a connection to safe driving and tourism in Central Florida. Safer roads mean safe and happy guests. So, when Walt Disney World Resort joined a coalition of state and national organizations, including the Florida League of Cities, Florida Sheriffs Association, AAA and the City of Orlando to support legislation to stop motorists from texting while driving, I guess it makes perfect sense.
According to the National Safety Council, each year more than 100,000 crashes happen in the United States because of drivers who are distracted by activities like texting, emailing and sending instant messages. A study by the Virginia Tech Highway Safety Institute found that individuals who send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash.
Florida is one of the few states without a distracted driving law. The Florida House and Senate are expected to discuss a measure to prohibit distracted driving during the upcoming legislative session. As part of an ongoing commitment to safety, Walt Disney World Resort is already among the growing number of companies across Florida that has a distracted driving policy in place.
As someone who was hit by a driver under the influence, I appreciate additional auto safety. So I’m glad to see Disney get on board with this one.
While we’re all guilty of texting while driving, even those who just do it one off or not often. These laws need to become more wide spread. It won’t stop everyone from reaching for their phones while behind the wheel. But once those tickets are being handed out, the accidents will slowly go down.
It’s proven to help. Doesn’t completely solve the problem, but it’s a good first step.
agreed. And I’m very surprised to learn that Florida doesn’t have such a law on the books. I’m from a state that has one and it’s mostly country roads out here. Texting while driving seems “easy” to do when you are the only car on the road that’s going perfectly straight for the next 10 miles (Yes. Still unsafe, wrong, and illegal) But on Disney Property? If i took my eye off the road for just one second while traveling down the center lane on World Drive, I’d be dead.
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