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donut disturb while driving
'Donut' disturb while driving

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) will be giving away up to 5,000 donuts this Friday and Saturday in the Melbourne CBD as a punny twist to their "Do Not Disturb While Driving" campaign.

That's right, you heard correctly ...

FREE DONUTS!

WHERE

Friday 19 July – 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, Queensbridge Square, Southbank

Saturday 20 July – 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, Southbank Spillway, Southbank

WHY

Free donuts are a fun way for the TAC to draw attention to the serious issue of distracted driving, in line with their new #DNDWhileDriving campaign.

The aim is to get more Victorians to activate the 'Do Not Disturb While Driving' feature on their mobile phone to help reduce growing instances of dangerous distracted driving on our roads.

The free donut comes with the condition of first activating the function on your smartphone, and the TAC has enlisted the help of Aussie comedian Sam Simmons to show Victorians how it's done.

In a Bicycle Network study, 35.7 per cent of bike riders surveyed see distracted driving every time they ride and 78.9 per cent have been involved in a 'near-miss' they believe was caused by distracted driving.

Early this year, Bicycle Network reported on a 2018 study of around 14,000 drivers, that saw the act of manipulating a device in the hand while driving increase 57 per cent since 2014.

Despite all iPhones since 2017 having the 'Do Not Disturb' feature, only about 20 per cent of drivers surveyed were willing to use it. 

Hopefully free donuts can encourage people flick the switch, and help create a safer environment on our roads. 

The table below is from the TAC campaign website, and shows how far you travel at different speeds when you take your eyes off the road for just two seconds:

Travel Speed

Distraction Time

Distance Travelled (metres)

40 km/h

2 seconds

22.22

50 km/h

2 seconds

27.78

60 km/h

2 seconds

33.33

80 km/h

2 seconds

44.44

100 km/h

2 seconds

55.56

Image from the TAC's latest campaign on mobile phone distraction while driving.

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