RISE AWARENESS Keep Your Eyes On The Road! PREVENT SPINAL CORD INJURY Alina Oana Bajenaru¹, Cristina Cimpeanu¹, Elena Constantin¹, Ionut Octavian Frecea 1 , Gelu Onose 1,2 , Aurelian Anghelescu 1,2 1. Teaching Emergency Hospital “Bagdasar-Arseni” (TEHBA), Bucharest, Romania 2. University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila” (UMPCD), Bucharest, Romania CONTACT Alina Oana Bajenaru MD Email: [email protected] Teaching Emergency Hospital “Bagdasar-Arseni” (TEHBA), Bucharest, Romania [1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-cord-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20377890 [2] https://www.dmv.org/distracted-driving/three-types-of-distractions.php [3] https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/index.html [ [4] Klauer SG , Ehsani JP , McGehee DV , Manser M . The Effect of Secondary Task Engagement on Adolescents' Driving Performance and Crash Risk. J Adolesc Health. 2015 Jul;57(1 Suppl):S36-43. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.03.014. [5] Atwood J, Guo F , Fitch G , Dingus TA . The driver-level crash risk associated with daily cellphone use and cellphone use while driving. Accid Anal Prev. 2018 Jul 18;119:149-154. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2018.07.007. References Nowadays, there is a change in the way cellphones are being used, from talking and listening to operating and looking so further research using observational studies is strongly recommended in order to build new strategies against distracted driving. The key for successful public educational – prophylactic interventions: sustainability, periodicity & multidisciplinary interventional team. PREVENTION is CHEAPER INTRODUCTION Police & public health organizations may play a major role in the prevention of car crashes through media by broadcasting public service announcements about risky driving behaviors. In order to prevent motor vehicle crashes & therefore spinal cord injuries, sustained mass - media campaigns underline the favourable influence of distraction- free driving. METHODS & MATERIALS Spinal cord injury is a damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal (cauda equina) and may cause permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries for people under 65 [1] Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that draws your attention away from driving. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash. Examples of visual distractions: checking and adjusting the GPS or temperature control, changing the radio station, checking social media. Examples of manual distractions: smoking, searching for different objects in the purse or wallet, adjusting child’ s seatbelt, eating or drinking. Examples of cogntive distractions: having a conversation with a passenger or on the telephone, being under the influence of drugs or/and alcohol, live streaming on social media, daydreaming, road rage etc [2] Texting and driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction (visual, manual and cognitive) [3] DISCUSSION & CONCLUSSION According to CDC, there are 3 main types of DISTRACTED DRIVING: VISUAL - taking your eyes off the road MANUAL - taking your hands off the wheel COGNITIVE - taking your mind off driving “ We all think we are great multitaskers ” … Studies show otherwise [4][5]