MIAMI – April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and on Wednesday, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Carlos Rosario helped give the public a reminder about the dangers of distracted driving.
Rosario was critically injured two years ago after he was struck by a car while conducting a traffic stop.
He is now back on the job, helping to spread the message about the dangers of distracted driving.
However, it's still a big problem. Another trooper was hit a few months ago on Interstate 95.
Dashcam video from December shows the trooper working a crash in Palm Beach County when a vehicle careened out of control and hit him.
Trooper Mithel Patel pushed a man out of the way before he was hit.
Patel returned to work on light duty in February.
But the incident highlights how vulnerable first responders are when dealing with emergencies on the side of the road or highway.
The bottom line is, some drivers are just not paying attention.
Many first responders joined safety experts Wednesday to remind drivers not only about the Move Over law, but about using cellphones while behind the wheel.
So far this year, 16 firefighters, officers or emergency repair workers have been killed in distracted driving-related crashes.
The biggest problem yet is people driving by an accident or emergency scene and pulling out their phone to record or post to social media.
Experts said it's gotten out of hand.
"Unfortunately, our roads -- things are not getting any safer. For the first time since the Great Recession, we have had three straight years of 40,000 plus fatalities on our roads. Every seven seconds someone is injured on our roadways," Kathy Lane, of the National Safety Council, said.
Miami Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Robert Hevia said 100 percent of those accidents were preventable.
"I think the statistics are showing it's worse than DUI. I don't think people know that. So, I want them to know, because if they knew that, maybe they would help change the law," Rosario said.
Rosario and other first responders want motorists to make a pledge to not text or email or do any sort of social media on phones while behind the wheel.
They ask the public to put their phones in the glove box until they reach their destination. It could help save lives.