U.N. mobilizes against distracted driving

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has thrown the U.N.’s weight behind a global push to stamp out distracted driving.

Ban also has ordered the U.N.’s 40,000 staffers to stop texting while behind the wheel of the organization’s vehicles.

Ban said at a New York gathering for the global distracted driving campaign: “We are seeing a major emerging challenge of driver distraction, mainly by using mobile phones. Together we have a message to all drivers of the world — don’t let using a mobile for a few seconds make you and others immobile for life.”

(Photo, from left: Jennifer Smith, Ban Ki-moon, Susan Rice)

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, an avowed hardliner on texting and cell phoning by drivers, said at Wednesday’s event:

“Distracted driving isn’t just a deadly epidemic in the U.S. — it’s a threat around the world. We believe our nations can do more to stop distracted driving if we work together. 

“The Obama administration stands ready to work with other countries so that we can put an end to dangerous driving behaviors and make the world’s roads safer for everyone,” LaHood said.

Last fall, President Obama banned texting by federal employees while they’re driving government vehicles. (Text continued below.)

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin noted that distracted driving was a focus of November’s Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow.

“Russia is ready to engage with the United States and other interested countries in defining the ways to mainstream (the fight against distracted driving) into global road safety cooperation agenda,” Churkin said.

The “global anti-distracted driving effort” wasn’t detailed by the speakers, but it “has an active online component that will allow other countries, safety organizations, and anti-distraction campaigns to share news and research as well as multimedia and other information,” according to a DOT release.

Thirty-two countries — including Russia, Brazil, France, Japan, Jordan, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom — have passed laws that restrict drivers’ use of handheld devices. Portugal has outlawed all phone use by drivers. (“Some of the world’s nations are far ahead of us on this,” LaHood wrote on his DOT blog.)

Ban said in some companies, 90 percent of drivers used mobile phones.

No statistics were available on the global cost of distracted driving, but the DOT said vehicle crashes around the world claim 1.3 million lives each year — roughly one death every 30 seconds.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said, “Texting while driving isn’t a harmless little habit. It’s a killer. It affects every nation on Earth. The suffering it causes is terribly direct and immediate—lives lost for no reason, futures shattered in an instant. But its toll is truly global. So this is a problem that needs global attention and action.”

Also on hand was an emotional Jennifer Smith, co-founder and president of the survivors activist group FocusDriven. She spoke of how her mother was killed by a young man who ran a red light while using his cell phone.

“It is a human problem affecting the entire world. … These victims are real people. These are human lives being taken for a phone call.”

Distracted parents driving teens to texting

Teenagers tend to follow their parents’ lead when it comes to driving … and texting?

NPR’s “Morning Edition” just did a segment on teens, texting and distracted driving, citing anecdotal evidence that youth who see their parents engaged in dangerous behaviors while behind the wheel see that as a green light to do the same.

One teen told NPR: “If a parent is always on their cell phone, the teen’s like, oh, it’s fine. My parents do it all the time. And if their parents haven’t crashed, then it’s kind of like, okay. It’s not going to happen.”

Amanda Lenhart of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project surveyed 800 teens and their parents about text messagng behind the wheel.

“(Teens) would tell stories about their parents’ texting with the phone while trying to drive with their knees,” Lenhart said on the radio feature. “They would talk about other ways in which parents were distracted behind the wheel, including using GPS or trying to use a walkie-talkie function on a phone, or make calls.”

And some of those kids say they’re downright scared of riding with their distracted parents, the NPR feature said.

Lenhart’s study “Teens and Mobile Phones” (April 20) found that daily text messaging among U.S. teens soared in a recent 18-month period, from 38% to 54%. Older teenage girls were the busiest texters, the Pew study found, sending an average of 100 messages a day.

One in three teens admitted to texting while driving, while 52% of teens who have cell phones said they had talked while behind the wheel.

Lynn Neary’s radio report was part of the “Today in Your Health” series.

Listen to the NPR report on teens, parents and texting.
Read the “Working to Stop Teens Texting Behind the Wheel” transcript.

Teens, texting at night a deadly duo

U.S. teenagers’ most dangerous move behind the wheel? Not speeding, not drinking, not racing. It’s simply driving after dark, according to a new study of highway fatalities.

From 1999 to 2008, the proportion of fatal crashes at night involving teen drivers increased 10 percent, according to a study released May 6 by the Texas Transportation Institute. Fatalities involving all drivers fell during those 10 years.

Most of the blame for the teen spike should go to use of cell phones and texting devices, researchers speculate.

“We know driving at night is dangerous,” said Bernie Fette of the Texas Transportation Institute. “We know using a cell phone behind the wheel compromises your ability to drive. Put those together and you’ve created a perfect storm (for highway fatalities).”

Teens die in distracted driving accidents more often than any other group of drivers.

In 1999, nighttime crashes accounted for 45 percent of fatalities linked to the 16 to 19 age group. In 2008, that rose to 50 percent.

After nighttime driving, the fatality factors for drivers 16 to 19 years old were speed, distractions, failure to buckle up and drinking, according to the Texas Transportation Institute.

While almost all teens understand that drinking and driving costs lives, very few were aware that motoring at night was a separate risk factor, the study said, citing a survey of Texas teens.

The researchers also cited teen driver fatigue as a likely contributor to these fatality numbers. The nationwide data did not track cell phones or fatigue, however.

The researchers pointed to the dramatic increase in use of handheld electronic devices behind the wheel as the basis for their conclusion on distracted driving.

Several state legislatures in 2010 have considered plans to increase the restrictions on young drivers with restricted licenses. Some states ban cell phone use for teen drivers, period (handheld or hands free).

The percentage of night-driving fatalities also was up (8 percent) for adults, but the researchers felt alcohol use probably was the main contributor to that rise.

Overall, fatalities fell about 11 percent in the 10-year period, according to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The increased proportion of nighttime fatalities is what alarmed the researchers, who are based at Texas A&M.

The distracted driving dictionary

Like all social issues, distracted driving has a unique terminology that’s used by those involved in the conversation — legislators, police, activists, researchers and so on. Here, in context, are some of the key words and phrases used in the national debate over distracted driving:

Distracted driving: Covers a wide range of activities that draw away a driver’s attention from the road. Bills that seek bans on handheld cell phones and text messaging devices typically are classified as distracted driving legislation. In a broader sense, activities such as putting on makeup, operating a radio, using a GPS system, reading, wrangling kids and animals also classified as distractions to drivers.

Driving contract/pledge: An agreement between parents and teens outlining acceptable in-car behavior such as: no texting while driving, only emergency phone calls while driving (using hands-free attachment), only one passenger, no driving after 11 p.m.

DWD: Driving while distracted.

DWT: Driving while texting. See “Intexticated.”

FocusDriven: Advocacy group that seeks to end the use of cellular devices by drivers. The board is comprised of family members who lost children and other loved ones to accidents caused by drivers using cell phones.

GPS: Global positioning system. Use occasionally banned for drivers along with text messaging and chatting on cell phones. More typically, GPS use is allowed under distracted driving laws and legislation.

Handheld: Description of personal electronic devices requiring the use of one of two hands. A person holding a handheld cell phone typically takes one hand off the wheel in order to talk and drive. With text messaging, drivers often use both hands to send messages, using their forearms or knees to steer the vehicle. Laws and legislation typically use the term to differentiate from electronic devices that are built into the vehicle (such as a radio), or portable devices equipped with hands-free attachments such as Bluetooth headsets.

Hands free: Description of personal electronic device that requires no use of the hands. Most often used in connection with mobile phones that have been equipped with hands-free accessories such as a wire headset or Bluetooth headset. Some add-ons to cell phones allow drivers to dial by voice or to write text messages.

Intexticated: Slang for driving and texting behaviors such as weaving that are similar to those exhibited by drunken motorists. Some researchers say drivers perform better while intoxicated than while text messaging.

No Phone Zone: Safety campaign launched by talk show host Oprah Winfrey in January 2010. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” viewers are urged to sign a pledge not to engage in distracted driving behaviors such as texting or using handheld cell phones. In its first four months, the Oprah online sign-up page drew 325,000 pledges. Winfrey has hosted two specials on distracted driving, including one in which a governor signed a texting ban into law.

Primary enforcement: Lawmakers and police use this term to signify traffic offenses for which drivers can be stopped and cited. With “secondary enforcement,” law officers need another reason to pull over the drivers, such as speeding. Primary vs. secondary is a key dynamic in distracted driving legislation. In general, secondary enforcement is seen as a watered down approach to restricting drivers’ use of cell phones and text messaging devices. Some safety-conscious lawmakers have agreed to secondary enforcement in order to get distracted driving legislation on the books. In a few other cases, legislators have upgraded bills from secondary to primary in order to give the legislation teeth. And some states, notably Washington in 2010, have revisited their distracted driving laws in order to move from secondary to primary enforcement.

Secondary enforcement: Means police need another reason to stop and cite motorists who are in violation of a law such as a ban on texting. A ticket then can be issued for the secondary infraction. See “Primary enforcement.”

Want to add a term? Great! Use the comments feature below.

Wisconsin 25th state to ban texting

Wisconsin’s governor signed into law a ban on texting while driving, making it the 25th state to outlaw the practice.

Jim Doyle joined a growing line of governors who enacted distracted driving laws this legislative season. Right before him was Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whose texting-ban signing ceremony was broadcast live on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Wisconsin’s new distracted driving law (from Assembly Bill 496) provides for fines ranging from $20 to $400. The offense is targeted for primary enforcement, which means law office can stop violators for that reason alone.

Enforcement begins Dec. 1.

“For far too long, inattentive driving has been a serious problem in Wisconsin and across the country,” Gov. Doyle said after the April 5 signing. “This bill is an important step to make our roads safer and save lives.”

AAA chief Robert Darbelnet praised the new distracted driving law, while noting that half the states are in the no-texting camp: “Last year, 12 states enacted text messaging bans for all drivers and we anticipate that several more states will act against this dangerous source of driver distraction this year,” he said.

Six states have enacted driving while texting prohibitions this year.

Wisconsin’s distracted driving bill was introduced in October, and actively worked throughout the legislative season by the state’s Senate and Assembly. The Senate signed off on the bill April 13. Final approval came in the Assembly on May 4 and the governor signed it the next day.

Doyle has enacted several key pieces of driver safety legislation on his watch.

Wisconsin has no limits on the use of mobile phones while driving.