SHIFT-ing the conversation

From the moment we get behind the wheel, until we arrive at our destination, there seems to be no shortage of distractions vying for our attention.

Distractions come in many shapes and sizes – some are more obvious, like the phone or kids in the backseat, while some are more subtle, like simply getting lost in your thoughts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines a distraction as “any activity that diverts attention from driving.”

The simple fact is addressing each and every distraction can be confusing. That is why the Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is changing its focus from distracted driving to engaged driving—driving in the moment and free from distractions.

“All too often the conversation revolves around what we’re doing wrong as drivers,” said Highway Safety Manager John Tomlinson. “We’re changing that conversation to talk about what we’re doing right as drivers and growing those good behaviors.”

With this in mind, OHS and its partners have created a movement to reduce crashes in Idaho called SHIFT.

“We don’t want to be that government agency that tells people what to do. SHIFT is an invitation to our friends and neighbors to join together to create safer communities,” Tomlinson said.

The goal of SHIFT is to encourage conversations about safe and engaged driving.

“If we can change the way we think and talk about distracted driving, hopefully we can make our roads safer,” Tomlinson added.

SHIFT has been recognized locally and nationally, earning a platinum AVA Digital Award for excellence, a Gold Rockie Award from the Boise Ad Federation, and other awards from the Idaho Press Club. More importantly, the campaign has opened doors for new partnerships to create a safer driving culture in Idaho.

To learn more about ITD’s engaged driving program, visit shift-idaho.org.

Here aere a couple of videos for SHIFT:

US-95 Workday

I-15 Road Trip

 

Published 08-24-18