Vijay's Blog
Distracted Driving in the Age of COVID-19
The year 2020 dawned with a severe hit by the ever-powerful tsunami of COVID-19. Now, no day goes by without a deluge of scary reports in daily newspapers, TV and radio describing in graphic details, the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. So, it was not surprising that I found myself struggling as I sat…
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The Hands Free Law Has Teeth
Minnesota Department of Public Safety released data on how the new hands-free law in Minnesota has performed since it went into effect on Aug. 1, 2019. As of Dec. 31, 2019, that is in five months, a total of 9,727 drivers received citations for violating the law. That amounts to little over 60 a day.…
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A decade away from a driver’s license, these kids are already learning safe driving habits
The members of Eden Prairie High School’s Distraction Free Driving Club are big fans of peer-to-peer education. Usually, that means other teenagers, but on Aug. 14, 22 high schoolers taught a different audience about safe driving: elementary schoolers. “The kids are our peers, our younger peers,” explained Saathvika Yeruva, co-president of the Distraction-Free Driving Club.…
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Catch Vijay on the radio explaining the new hands-free law
Vijay Dixit of the Shreya R. Dixit Memorial Foundation is slated to appear on WCCO Radio and Minnesota Public Radio in the coming days. He will be a guest on WCCO at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 28, for the “Jearlyn Steele Show,” where he will help explain Minnesota’s new hands-free law. The new regulations disallow…
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Distracted Driving Kills: Has a Track Record
Written by: VIJAY B. DIXIT, CHAIRMAN Do you agree with the above title? I do. Distracted Driving has been killing for a real-long time, though under different names. Also, impact of that tragedy does not ever fade away, it remains permanently etched in the memories of those left behind. To make my point I must…
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The New Hands-free Law Needs a New Village
Vijay b. Dixit, Chairman Shreya R. Dixit Memorial Foundation August 1, 2019 is the day when the new Hands-free Law goes into effect. Getting the Hands-free legislation passed only paved the way for a distraction-free driving future. Now we must make it work. Laws succeed only if they get support from an intelligently designed execution…
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Hands-free law to go into effect Aug. 1
In just over a month, the new hands-free cellphone law will go into effect. Drivers will no longer be allowed to hold cellphones while the car is in motion. The Shreya R. Dixit Foundation is dedicated to making drivers aware of the new regulations, for their own safety. Here is an easy summary of what’s…
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Hands-free is not Distraction-free
August 1, 2019 is the date when the new Hands-free Law goes live. That is great news. But I would personally like to add an informal footnote alert. Let us not assume that just because one uses a hands-free/Bluetooth enabled phone, one does not have to worry about distracted driving. Let us be clear. Hands-free…
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Speak Up About Distracted Driving: Why asking your friends to put down their phones is the best way to fight distracted driving
We are working on changing the culture around distracted driving. Even though distracted driving is killing thousands in the U.S. every year, drivers continue to do it. And you’ve likely been in the car with someone who was distracted. Did you ask them to put the phone down? To save the sandwich for home? Or…
Read MoreHands-free bill is a Lifesaver
March column in the Eden Prairie News: By Vijay B. Dixit, Chairman Shreya R. Dixit Memorial Foundation According to preliminary estimate from the Office of Traffic Safety, the current count of traffic fatalities stands at 65 for 2019. At the same time last year, the corresponding number was 53 which was worse than the previous…
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Is it a Plea or Call to Action?
This is a Call to Action on two fronts. In the eleven-year long quest for a distraction-free driving world, we at Shreya R. Dixit Memorial Foundation have noted some progress. Despite broad range support from all quarters, we continue to encounter new challenges. They are moving targets that are increasingly becoming difficult to track and manage. I am referring to new technologies installed in cars as well as in mobile devices that drivers and passengers carry as extensions to their bodies.
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Mikey Did NOT Do It Alone!!
Adults are as much or more to blame for poor driving practices like distracted driving. The famous sayings: like father like son or a fruit does not fall far from the tree are good examples. We adults are role models for our young ones. What we see in them is actually our own reflection.
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Tragedy to Advocacy: A Journey
Written by: VIJAY B. DIXIT, CHAIRMAN, SHREYA R. DIXIT MEMORIAL FOUNDATION November 1, for most of it is a mere date in a calendar. But it gives shudders to my family and my friends, a day that they cannot forget. November 1, 2007 was an earthquake that shook everything around us. It was the day…
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An Inexcusable Fumble at the One Yard Line!!
We are almost halfway down 2018. The year brought Minneapolis the honor of hosting Super Bowl at the sparkling US Bank Stadium. Vikings almost made it to the Super Bowl but, for Philadelphia robbing Minneapolis of the distinction of hosting and, getting a chance to win the Super Bowl. No doubt, it was very disappointing. …
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Hands-Free Bill Remains Alive, But No Floor Votes Yet. WHY?
A public safety bill passed the Minnesota House this week that includes a provision outlawing cell phone use in construction zones, and another calling for tougher penalties for “distracted driving.” But, so far, separate bills in both the House and Senate mandating hands-free cell phone use are still awaiting floor votes.
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Dixit: Help the hand-free cellphone bill to become a law
I am not a linguist. But I have closely watched the evolution of a term that has indeed become an obsession for me. This term was a tongue twister only 10 years ago. Today it is ubiquitous with its dreadful presence and has totally erased its tongue-twisting character. The term is “distracted driving” — which…
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