Governor reaches out to drivers — by texting
January 31, 2010
Props to Gov. M. Jodi Rell for her plan to toughen Connecticut’s existing ban on driving and talking on handheld cell phones. She’s pushing for a text messaging ban, too.
No doubt Rell is one of the good guys on this issue.
But, get a load of the unfortunate wording in this invitation from the gov’s official web site:
Dear Friends:
If you are like me, there are days when you are on the road all day, away from your computer and with limited access to e-mail. However, you want to be the first to know of the important news … from my office. Now you can.Sign up today to get text messages from my office sent to your cell phone. After all, keeping you up-to-date on what we are doing in Hartford is one of my top priorities. (Our italics)
Let’s hope no one who is “on the road all day” with a cell phone causes a wreck while reading Rell’s text message — regarding her text-messaging ban.
Study: Handheld cell bans have no effect
January 30, 2010
Bans on handheld cell phone use by drivers aren’t cutting into accident rates, according to a study by insurance industry researchers.
“This finding doesn’t auger well for any safety payoff from all the new laws that ban phone use and texting while driving,” the leader of the Highway Loss Data Institute said.
Collision claims in Calfornia, Connecticut and the District of Columbia remained about the same after they adopted bans on the use of handheld cell phones (meaning those without hands-free functionality), the group said.
New York did show a decrease, but researchers dismissed that reduction in collision insurance claims as part of a pre-existing trend.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration immediately trashed the cell phone law study, saying: “It is irresponsible to suggest that laws banning cell phone use while driving have zero effect on the number of crashes on our nation’s roadways.”
California state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, called the release of the study’s findings “largely a nonevent” due to the limits of its data. Simitian authored California’s ban on handheld cell phones and then its ban on text messaging.
The study only reported on vehicles up to 3 years old and did not include accidents in which no claims were made. (Read the cell phone study results.)
“Month-to-month fluctuations in rates of collision claims in jurisdictions with bans didn’t change from before to after the laws were enacted,” HLDI said in a statement. “Nor did the patterns change in comparison with trends in jurisdictions that didn’t have such laws.
The group said the finding was “a mismatch” with what is known about the dangers of cell phones and driving.
“If crash risk increases with phone use and fewer drivers use phones where it’s illegal to do so, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes,” said Adrian Lund, president of HLDI. “But we aren’t seeing it.”
DOT chief Ray LaHood wrote on his blog: “Not explaining likely reasons for the surprising data encourages people to wrongly conclude that talking on cell phones while driving is not dangerous!”
The researchers did speculate that the number of accident claims remained steady because drivers began using hands-free technology, which it believes makes no improvement in safety.
The National Safety Council, which has called for a total ban on cell phone use by drivers, issued a statement praising the insurance group’s work:
“There is a common misconception that hands-free is safer and research tells us hands-free is just as dangerous as handheld,” said Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council.”
The Highway Loss Data Institute, a “nonprofit research organization,” has been crunching numbers from auto insurance companies since 1973. It is an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which Lund also heads.
A previous Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study of driver phone records found a four-fold increase in the risk of injury crashes.
In a bit of irony, the DOT’s distracted driving web site features a rolling scroll of related news headlines, which today all started with some variation on: “Distracted Driving Laws Don’t Reduce Crashes.”
Texting banned for truckers, bus drivers
January 26, 2010
Truckers and bus drivers have been barred from text messaging on the job, following announcement of a federal ban on the practice.
“We know that a commercial truck or bus driven by someone texting is a lethal weapon,” says U.S. Transportation chief Ray LaHood.
The ban — which includes the use of handheld cell phones for texting — officially comes from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It applies to interstate truck drivers and commercial bus or van drivers who carry more than eight passengers.
Penalties for texting and driving for truckers will be up to $2,750.
Hood, who has grown increasingly passionate about the distracted driving issue over the past six months, writes on his DOT blog:
“We’re not trying to deny anyone the opportunity to earn a living at the wheel of a truck or bus. We’re simply sending a message: when we advise drivers to share the road responsibly, we mean it.”
The truckers lobby has been closely following distracted driving legislation, in particular any implications for two-way radios and GPS systems. Most, but not all, states that have banned drivers from text messaging or using handheld cell phones (those without hands-free accessories
The obvious question is enforcement, an issue even with small cars. Law officers would be hard pressed to tell if a truck driver were texting due to the height of the cabin.
“The enforcement problem here is enormous,” said Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, quoted in the Washington Post. “It’s not clear this is going to make any difference on the road in terms of crashes.”
Nonetheless, safety advocates point out, many people simply respect and observe laws.
LaHood vowed “additional legal remedies” in coming months. The DOT cannot order states to ban electronic devices, but it is possible to cut off funding for those states that do not cooperate. A similar method was used with seat belts and legal drinking ages.
An outright ban on commercial drivers’ use of handheld cell phones
President Obama has banned text messaging for federal employees driving U.S. vehicles.
Oprah’s ‘No Phone Zone’ campaign
January 15, 2010
Oprah wants her viewers to know “how absolutely stupid it is that we continue to text and drive.”
The TV talk titan devoted Monday’s show to distracted driving, with appearances by people who have lost loved ones to someone using a handheld cell phone or text messaging.
Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions said the show’s effort against distracted driving would be called the “No Phone Zone” campaign. Fans are asked to pledge not to use cell phones
Update: “We need to make our own movement to stop (cell phoning and text messaging while driving),” Winfrey told her audience. “Don’t tempt fate; that text can wait.”
Those who lost love ones to accidents caused by distracted drivers made up much of the audience.
Several younger people who admitted they used wireless communications devices while driving took a road test administered by Car & Driver magazine. They reported back to Winfrey with the results.
“It’s absolutely changed my life,” said one texting and driving fan of her wobbly test performance. “I’m so lucky that nothing has happened to my children” while driving distracted, she said.
Winfrey said before the show:
“Most people think they can text and talk on the phone and they can handle it, and it’s the ‘other’ people who can’t really handle it. “So what needs to happen, I strongly believe, is that the laws need to change to put us all in check. Everybody thinks that they can handle it. But you can’t. You can’t.”
“Oprah has an ability to change the world,” said a Massachusetts man from the show. Two years ago, Jerry Cibley was talking to his son, who was driving and using a cell phone. The teen’s car slammed into a tree, killing him.
FocusDriven: support for cell phone victims
January 13, 2010
Born of personal tragedies, a group that fights the use of cell phones while driving has been launched with the help of the National Safety Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
FocusDriven describes itself as “an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using cell phones.” The founders (pictured) all lost family members to crashes caused by drivers who were distracted by their cell phones.
The group’s mission recalls that of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
They include president Jennifer Smith, who lost her mother to a distracted driver in Oklahoma City. Smith has been a frequent speaker at governmental hearings, including last fall’s DIstracted Driver Summit.
Founding director Shelley Forney started her fight against cell phone use and driving after her 9-year-old daughter was killed in Fort Collins, inspiring Colorado’s “Erica’s Law” legislation. She, too, has been active in testifying as to dangers of cell phone use while driving.
The top of the FocusDriven web site features pictures of the founders’ relatives who died in cell phone-caused crashes.
The group was formed, in part, because of the National Safety Council’s call for a victim support organization. DOT chief Ray LaHood announced formation of the group on Jan. 12.
“I’m deeply impressed by (the founders’) commitment to turn these tragic events into positive actions that will help save lives,” LaHood said. “Their stories are not just heartbreaking; they’re also a clear and compelling call to action.
“Just as groups like MADD changed attitudes about drunk driving, I believe FocusDriven can help raise awareness and change the way people think about distracted driving.”
Victims of cell phone accidents and those seeking to prevent them can interact with FocusDriven on its website.
‘Name and shame’ cell phone violators
January 8, 2010
Steady, cell phone chatterers. The Essex Chronicle in England has decided to “name and shame” drivers who are violating traffic laws by using mobile phones behind the wheel.
A reporter accompanied local police as they cited drivers for chatting and texting while motoring. The newspaper then printed the perps’ names and photos.
The unusual tactic sometimes is used by the media to humiliate prostitutes’ johns, but the cell phone suspects didn’t seem all that repentant.
“I don’t like people telling me how to live my life,” said second-time offender Gemma Dean. When asked if she felt like she was endangering others by cell phoning while behind the wheel, she replied: “I don’t really care.”
At least one fellow caught one-handed admitted: “I feel a bit stupid now.”
An online commenter pointed out that these are alleged offenses. “The Essex Chronicle are NOT the police or a magistrates court!”
In any event the cell phone chronicles could be good for circulation. “Buy this week’s Chronicle for more on the issue and to see if you were pictured on the phone behind the wheel by our photographers,” the paper’s web site urged.
New year, new distracted driving laws
January 4, 2010
A handful of distracted driving laws went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010, seeking to rein in drivers who yap on cell phones and send text messages while behind the wheel.
The vast majority of distracted driving legislation went nowhere in 2009 — surprising for a year in which so much publicity was generated over the issue — but a handful of states got past the debates and took their safety concerns to the streets.
The focus now moves from the legislatures to the law enforcement agencies, where enforcement could be spotty.
- In Illinois, text messaging is now illegal for all drivers. Fines are $75. House Bill 72 was signed into law on Aug. 6. The state also banned drivers from using cell phones in school speed zones and construction/road maintenance zones.
- In New Hampshire, text messaging has been outlawed for all drivers. “It is clear that texting while driving poses a serious danger on our roadways,” Gov. John Lynch said as he approved the anti-texting legislation House Bill 34. Fines are $100.
- In Kansas, drivers with restricted (learning) licenses cannot use cell phones or texting devices. This is the state’s first restriction on mobile phone use (HB 2143)
- In Oregon, drivers are not be allowed to text message and cell phone use will be limited to adult motorists using hands-free attachments. Tickets are pegged at $142.
In Canada, two provinces got in line with the nationwide distracted driving trend:
- In British Columbia, drivers still have a month before getting tickets for using a handheld cell phone or text messaging while driving. After that, the tickets will cost $167.
- In Saskatchewan, the use of cell phones without a hands-free device or texting will cost drivers $280 and points.
- The Big Island of Hawaii has outlawed the use of handheld cell phones while behind the wheel. Violations will cost up to $150. Drivers causing accidents while using a mobile electronic device while driving on the Big Island are subject to $500 fines.
- Austin has prohibited use of Internet-related activities while driving, such as texting, Tweeting, using iPhone applications and visiting web sites. The ban went into effect Jan. 1, but enforcement begins Feb. 1 in the form of $500 tickets.
- “Proposals (to curb distracted driving) are being met with less resistance than in years past from legislators, and are enjoying newfound industry support,” the article says. Reporter Matt Richtel says 200 bills have been filed regarding distracted driving, but doesn’t specify a time frame.
- “People are starting to see it like drunk driving, and that’s the comparison we need to continue to make,” said Steve Farley, an Arizona state representative from Tucson.
- Of critics of distracted driving legislation, Farley said: “They will always believe this is an issue of personal freedom. They don’t take into account the loss of freedom when a texting driver runs into someone and kills them.”
And a handful of regional bans also swung into action, including:
Distracted driving progress cited by NYT
January 4, 2010
“I’m on a rampage about this, and I’m not going to let up,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says of the dangerous practice of text messaging while driving.
Rampage on, Ray.
LaHood’s comments were reported Jan. 3 in a New York Times article, “Bills to Curb Distracted Driving Gain Momentum.” The article adds nothing new to the conversation about distracted driving, but contains a few items of interest.
The New York Times deserves credit for the distracted driving stories it has been cranking out over the past year. At least in bulk, the Times clearly is in the lead in mainstream media coverage of the issue — even if the stories are mostly recycled news.