ODESSA, Texas — Heads up, phone down and drive: it's the message TxDOT is wanting you to remember when you're on the road.
Just last year, the Texas Department of Transportation has seen a 17% increase in traffic deaths related to distracted driving.
"In 2021, we had 431 people die because of distracted driving, and we have to realize that's just what we can document. But sometimes there's crashes where you can't prove distracted driving so that number is probably a lot higher," said Gene Powell with Odessa TxDOT.
At just 55 MPH, you can drive about the length of a football field in about four and a half seconds and that's a long time to not be looking at the road.
"You pull up to any red light in Odessa and Midland, look at the people around you, someone is on their phone. Chances are they were on their phone going down the road too and that's pretty scary," said Powell.
As for distractions, cell phones are just one of the many things taking driver's attention off the road.
"Distracted driving takes a lot of different forms. The cellphone is the obvious one but eating and drinking, putting on your makeup, shaving, reading, playing with navigation system, yelling at kids in the backseat. Anything that takes your attention off the road is a dangerous thing," he said.
According to Powell, crashes caused by distracted driving are happening all across West Texas.
"10 of them were in the rural areas of our 12 counties, so like Pecos County, Reeves County, Andrews County, Ward County, Crane County, those kind of places. 36 serious injuries and 23 of those again rural areas, not Odessa/Midland so it's a problem everywhere," Powell said.
Which is why for Distracted Driving Awareness Month, they're asking you to put away the distractions and drive safe, for you and those on the road with you.
"We'll continue the message but we really need the traveling public to pay attention to what they're doing and pay attention to the road when they're behind the wheel," said Powell.