BLUEFIELD, Va. — Three seconds can change a life forever, and Bluefield, Va., Police Chief Harry Cundiff wants every driver to think about the consequences of driving distracted.

“It only takes three seconds of a distraction to cause an accident,” Cundiff said. “I think people in general have forgotten that when they’re driving a vehicle, they need to remain focused on what they are doing.

“Those three seconds of distraction from doing something like checking out your hair in a rear view mirror, talking on a cell phone, sending or reading text messages or eating can change the life of the driver as well as the lives of all of their family members and the lives of every family touched by the accident,” Cundiff said.

“Driving is a serious thing,” Cundiff said. “It deserves your full attention. What we’re trying to do now is to make people aware that they can help by making it a habit of being attentive at all times when they are driving.”

In order to promote greater awareness of the potential problems caused by driving distracted, the Bluefield, Va., Police Department is joining with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, DRIVE SMART, the Virginia Highway Safety Office and the Virginia State Police to recognize April 29, as Distracted Driving Awareness Day in Virginia.

The Bluefield, Va., Police Department cited a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in a press release, revealing that in 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near crashes “a distracted driving action occurred within three seconds of the incident,” according to the study.

“We recognize the need to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving,” Cundiff was quoted in the press release as stating. “All drivers would benefit by making the commitment to eliminate their dangerous driving habits.”

Cundiff said that the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill during the 2009 session that makes text messaging a secondary offense, meaning that officers will have to observe the vehicle operator committing another offense before being able to add the charge of violating the text messaging ban. That law will go into effect on July 1.

“We will increase patrols on April 29, in an effort to increase public awareness about driving distracted whether its text messaging while driving, eating, applying lipstick or talking on a cell phone,” Cundiff said. “Those three seconds of distraction can make a big difference in the lives of a lot of people. We’re hoping to make drivers more aware of that.”

— Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com