Nationwide Insurance, NASCAR Driver Jeff Burton Encourage Local Drivers to Stop Texting While Driving.Many Young Motorists Committing DWD DWD Department of Workforce Development DWD Deutscher Wetterdienst (German weather forecasting service) DWD Driving While Distracted DWD Drinking Water Directive DWD Darkwing Duck (cartoon) - "Driving While Distracted" COLUMBUS, Ohio Columbus is the capital and the largest city of the American state of Ohio. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. -- Today, Nationwide Insurance teamed up with the Columbus City Schools and NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. driver Jeff Burton Jeffery Brian Burton (born June 29, 1967 in South Boston, Virginia) also sometimes referred to as "JB" is a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver. He drives the #31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. to raise awareness among drivers in Columbus about DWD - Driving While Distracted. "I am an active safety advocate in NASCAR and do everything to ensure my personal safety while racing," said Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. "That concern goes beyond the race track to the streets and highways. To help prevent potential accidents, drivers need to have their focus completely on the road and avoid distractions while behind the wheel." To drive home the message that multitasking multitasking Mode of computer operation in which the computer works on multiple tasks at the same time. A task is a computer program (or part of a program) that can be run as a separate entity. behind the wheel puts drivers and their fellow motorists as risk, Nationwide hosted an event at West High School. Students and community members were able to see firsthand the impact text messaging Sending short messages to a smartphone, pager, PDA or other handheld device. Text messaging implies sending short messages generally no more than a couple of hundred characters in length. has on their driving abilities while racing in a NASCAR simulator. New Nationwide Insurance survey underscores DWD problem The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, often pronounced "nit-suh") is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government, part of the Department of Transportation. says distracted drivers account for nearly four out of five crashes in the U.S. The problem is especially bad for young drivers. In a new survey released by Nationwide Mutual Insurance of 1,500 drivers, nearly 40 percent of the teenagers and young adults surveyed admitted they send and receive text messages while driving - the same percentage of those questioned who said they have been hit or almost hit by another car whose driver was talking on a cell phone. "Clearly, distracted driving has taken over our roadways, and our survey shows that no one is immune -- no matter how safe they think they are," said Bill Windsor, Associate Vice President of Safety for Nationwide. Distractions that take a driver's eyes off the road even for just seconds put drivers and their passengers at great risk. "At Nationwide, we're as much in the business of preventing accidents as we are in reimbursing people after an accident," said David Arango, Nationwide's Regional Vice President for Ohio and West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. . "Text messaging comes natural to Gen Y-ers. However, multitasking while behind the wheel is quite different from multitasking while sitting at home." Nationwide and the National Safety Council developed www.NationwideSmartRide.com, a Website to provide parents and teens free tools and resources to help develop safe drivers and reinforce smart behavior. It is available free to anyone regardless of whether they are a Nationwide customer. "The increase in cell phone use and text-messaging by young drivers - and adult drivers as well - makes the "don't drive while distracted" message critical for all communities," said Dr. Gene Harris For the baseball player, see . Gene Harris (September 1, 1933, Benton Harbor, Michigan – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. , Superintendent of Columbus City Schools. "I applaud Nationwide and NASCAR for addressing this very contemporary safety issue." Today's event is part of Nationwide Insurance's new sponsorship of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In addition to spreading the message of dangers of driving while distracted, the event gave race fans an opportunity to get driver autographs, clock the fastest time in a NASCAR racing simulator, meet local Nationwide agents and win prizes. The grand prize for the sweepstakes at the event was two tickets to an Ohio State University Ohio State University, main campus at Columbus; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1873 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, renamed 1878. There are also campuses at Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark. football game. Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world, with more than $161 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #108 on the Fortune 500 list. The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, farm, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. The NASCAR Nationwide Series logo and word mark are used under license by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing: see NASCAR. , Inc., and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company & Affiliated Companies is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. History Beginnings as Farm Bureau Mutual . NASCAR [R] and the NASCAR logo are registered trademarks of the National Association for Stock Auto Racing, Inc. Nationwide SmartRide is a service mark of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Nationwide, On Your Side and the Nationwide Frame mark are federally registered service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. |
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