2010: Stop cell phone use and texting while driving!
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:45 pm
As we start off the New Year we are starting a new thread on the cell phone/texting problem. (Be sure to also see the previous McHenry Software forum topics with many links/references: STOP Cell phone use while driving and "Intexticated" drivers)
Bills to Curb Distracted Driving Gain Momentum
January 2, 2010,New York Times, MATT RICHTEL,
Lawmakers across the US have already proposed hundreds of bills to curb distracted driving. Policy analysts expect to see dozens more in the coming months. "It’s the hottest safety issue in the states right now by far,” said Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies. The flurry of state activity — coupled with intensifying action by federal legislators and regulators, and by the cellphone and auto industries — is putting renewed focus on the risks of using phones behind the wheel, according to policy analysts.
Much of the lobbying and legislative momentum has focused on texting bans, and policy analysts said there was less consensus but intensifying debate about what to do about driving while talking on the phone; studies show such motorists face a four times greater crash risk.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who in October called distracted driving a “deadly epidemic,” said reform must not end with the demonization of texting. In Congressional hearings, he said that talking on the phone, even when using a hands-free device, poses a cognitive distraction risk that should not be ignored. “I’m on a rampage about this, and I’m not going to let up,” Mr. LaHood said of the broader issue of distracted driving. He said that he believed the goal should be to persuade people to shut down their devices or lock them in the glove compartment when they get behind the wheel.
See the Full Story
Bills to Curb Distracted Driving Gain Momentum
January 2, 2010,New York Times, MATT RICHTEL,
Lawmakers across the US have already proposed hundreds of bills to curb distracted driving. Policy analysts expect to see dozens more in the coming months. "It’s the hottest safety issue in the states right now by far,” said Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies. The flurry of state activity — coupled with intensifying action by federal legislators and regulators, and by the cellphone and auto industries — is putting renewed focus on the risks of using phones behind the wheel, according to policy analysts.
Much of the lobbying and legislative momentum has focused on texting bans, and policy analysts said there was less consensus but intensifying debate about what to do about driving while talking on the phone; studies show such motorists face a four times greater crash risk.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who in October called distracted driving a “deadly epidemic,” said reform must not end with the demonization of texting. In Congressional hearings, he said that talking on the phone, even when using a hands-free device, poses a cognitive distraction risk that should not be ignored. “I’m on a rampage about this, and I’m not going to let up,” Mr. LaHood said of the broader issue of distracted driving. He said that he believed the goal should be to persuade people to shut down their devices or lock them in the glove compartment when they get behind the wheel.
See the Full Story