Lombard firefighter battles distracted driving

The Chicago Tribune recently published an article about a local firefighter's efforts to teach kids about the perils of distracted driving.

Earlier this week, about 300 students in West Suburban Glenbard East High School attended Greg Vasquez's 45-minute program featuring statistics, videos and personal stories. Vazquez designed this safe-driving presentation to scare soon-to-be-licensed drivers away from using cell phones in their cars.

Fortunately, national agencies are listening to Vazquez and many others who are pointing out the perils of distracted driving.

A nation-wide ban on cell phone use by all drivers was recently recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to the NHTSA, an estimated 3,092 fatalities resulted from distraction-affected crashes in 2010. Their statistics show that teen drivers are more likely than other age groups to be involved in a fatal crash where distraction is reported.