Hwang to Moderate Distracted Driving Panel in Newtown

NEWTOWN, CT —State Senator Tony Hwang will moderate a panel of law enforcement officials, AAA Northeast and Dr. Neil Chaudhary from Preusser Research to raise awareness about Distracted Driving Month, which began April 1

The event will be held Thursday, April 25, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street in Newtown.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that almost 90 percent of drivers believe distracted driving is a bigger problem today than ever before, according to the news release.

"Most of us are guilty of distracted driving because we naively think nothing dangerous will happen to us. Unfortunately, distracted driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving," said Hwang in a release. "When you are not paying full attention to the road in front of you, there is a highly increased chance that you will have an accident as a result of either your own actions or the actions by another you are unable to avoid. All that it takes is a fraction of a second for tragedy to occur. We need to take this just as seriously as drunk and buzzed driving because they can lead to the same dangerous result. We encourage everyone to keep two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road. Your phone and other distractions can wait."