Distracted Drivers

The United States Transportation Department recently presented a proposal to forbid text messaging at the wheel by cross-state truck and bus drivers. This regulatory action follows up on its public service program to lessen the number of distractions that cause crashes. The proposal would make permanent an interim ban put in place at the beginning of the calendar year by the Transportation Secretary. The planned ban applies to drivers of passenger buses and commercial trucks operating vehicles weighing more than ten thousand pounds. To give an idea of the serious nature of the problem, the drivers could be facing civil penalties and/or even criminal penalties. The US Department of Transportation reports that 5,870 people were killed and about 515,000 were injured in 2008 in crashes involving driver distraction. They has not determined how many of those accidents involved cell phone. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mirror the Transportation Department estimates with an estimate that around eighty percent of accidents are caused by distracted drivers. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is sponsoring research to determine the extent of the distraction issue. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) states that driver inattention is a leading factor in many accidents, and mobile phone use and sending text messages are leading causes of driver distractions. State legislatures have responded to the growing concern over cell phone calls and texting while driving by passing a variety of new laws, inclucing banning handheld cell phone use or texting by all drivers or restricting mobile phone use or texting for a specific demographic, such as teens or school bus drivers. The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that twenty states and Washington DC prohibit drivers of all types of vehicles from texting when behind the wheel. Another nine states restricting texting by novice drivers. The remaining states are expected to implement the ban before too long. However it is also widely recognized that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are neede. The GHSA says it supports texting bans for all drivers, but does have concerns about enforcement. The trucking and passenger bus industries support the texting ban, and many corporations have explicit policies restricting sending text messages while driving. The government, industry and safety organizations all agree that distracted drivers caused bytexting is a menace to society, and deserves action. Advocates for dealing with the problem also include media powerhouse Oprah. The issue is a relatively new phenomenon. As navigation systems, cellphones and other mobile electronics have become ubiquitous in cars and trucks, safety advocates and the government have pushed for restrictions.