South Dakotans see texting ad — but no laws

South Dakota hasn’t gotten around to banning texting while driving. Two attempts at distracted driving laws crashed and burned in the Legislature this season as lawmakers fretted about personal liberties and enforcement.

Prospects for distracted driving legislation in South Dakota next session: murky at best.

But the state has a PSA.

Better than nothing.

Adults tie teens in texting, driving

Adults are just as likely to text message while driving as teenagers, according to a new national survey.

“Adults may be the ones sounding the alarm on the dangers of distracted driving, but they don’t always set the best example themselves,” said Mary Madden of the Pew Research Center.

The finding contradicts the widely held belief that texting and driving is primarily a problem with teens. The Pew report on distracted driving does show, however, that young adults (ages 18 to 34) are the most likely to text and drive, by far (59 percent).

More than a quarter of U.S. adults (27 percent) admit to texting while behind the wheel, Pew reports. Texting teens posted almost identical numbers (26 percent).

Police say texting and driving is more dangerous for teens, who have far less experience behind the wheel than adults. At any age, texting and operating a motor vehicle has been found to dramatically increase the chances of an accident.

Adults who say then have driven while on a cell phone clearly outpace teenagers, the distracted driving poll found. 61 percent of adults said they used a mobile phone while driving, vs. 43 percent of teenagers (ages 16, 17).

Nine in 10 members of Generation X (34-45 years old) who own cell phones report that they talk and drive. Seniors come in at 50 percent.

Adults 18-33 are the most likely to admit they text while driving (59 percent) compared with age groups 34-45 (50 percent) and 46-64 (29 percent).

More findings from the Pew study:

• Almost half of all adults and teens say they have been passengers in a vehicle when the driver was text messaging.
• 44 percent of adults say they’ve been in a vehicle when the driver used a cell phone in a dangerous way. 40 percent of the teens said they had. This figure decreases dramatically with age.
• Pew says 14 percent of adult drivers have run into something or someone while talking or texting.
• Men are more likely than women to admit texting while behind the wheel (51 percent of men who use text messaging devices vs. 42 percent of women).
• 82 percent of adults have cell phones. 58% text message on their mobile phones.

Telephone interviews were conducted with 2,252 adult drivers in late May and early April. Numbers for teens came from earlier reports. Adults may be more reliable than teens in self-reporting their behaviors.

Another recent report found that states are increasingly fighting distracted driving.

Forty-three states are now collecting data on distraction as a factor in road and highway accidents. That compares with 17 in 2003, the Governors Highway Safety Association reports.

Twenty-seven states have written distracted driving provisions into their Strategic Highway Safety Plans. (That’s almost the same number of states that had adopted laws on texting and talking while behind the wheel.) The SHSPs reflect priorities and programs in departments of transportation and motor vehicles, as well as safety programs.

Thirty-seven states have launched public information campaigns to warn of the hazards of distracted driving.

Titans of texting take pledge, get Sparks tickets

Here’s a new one in the world of distracted-driving safety campaigns:

South Florida teens who proved themselves to be superstars of text messaging were awarded free tickets to a concert by “American Idol” star Jordin Sparks.

One catch: They had to pledge to never text and drive.

The idea for the unusual safety contest came from Stacy Kagan, an Allstate Insurance agent in Coral Springs. “We’re trying to encourage teens to be aware that texting kills,” Kagan told the Miami Herald. Allstate’s “Thumbs Up to X the TXT” has been working its way across the nation since November.

First-place “winner” Sydney Trinker turned in a cell phone bill that showed 38,000 texts in a single month. She and her family signed Allstate’s no-texting pledge — and is off to see Sparks in concert. (Teens could only submit previous cell phone bills.)

Sparks’ summer “Battlefield” tour hosts “X the TXT” events in 29 cities. “Choosing to not pick up the phone and keep your eyes on the road can be the difference between life and death,” the young singer said.

Teens who pledge not to text message and drive can add their thumbprints to a traveling banner displayed at concert stops.

U.S. Senate panel OKs state incentives

A key U.S. Senate panel has signed off on “the Distracted Driving Prevention Act,” which would bring $94 million in incentives to states that ban dangerous activities such as texting and cell-phoning while behind the wheel.

On June 9, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved the driver safety legislation (SB 1938) from Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. It now goes to the full Senate.

The approval was no surprise since Rockefeller is chairman of the Senate committee and Hutchison is its senior member.

Hutchison noted that the Senate bill would not endanger existing highway funding. A rival plan, SB 1536, would cut existing grants to states that don’t ban texting while driving.

“I think it is most appropriate for the states to handle this issue and devise laws that best meet their particular needs,” Hutchison said of her plan. “Our legislation does not threaten states with lost highway funds if they elect not to enact a distracted driving law.”

The plan would establish an incentive grant fund that would be shared with states that adopt laws in line with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s guidelines. Funding would come from other government auto safety programs.

In order to get a share of the $94 million distracted-driving-law incentives, states would have to ban texting and use of handheld cell phones for those operating a motor vehicle.

Enforcement must be primary, meaning police can pull over and cite motorists for these offenses alone. Some states have watered-down laws and legislation that require another offense such as speeding before a driver can be cited.

Senators wondered if the incentives were necessary since more than half of the states already have adopted bans on texting and driving.

“It’s not as if the states are ignoring this issue and need this financial push from Congress,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said.

4 states OK distracted driving laws

Distracted driving legislation found favor with the governors of Georgia, Connecticut, Vermont and Kansas in recent days.

In Georgia, it was drama on deadline for the text messaging and cell phone bills approved by the Legislature. The governor threatened vetoes, citing enforcement issues. “None of this business is black and white,” Gov. Sonny Perdue said.

Safety advocates, lawmakers and students lobbied furiously in the final days of the legislative session for Perdue to sign the bills, which he did with no time to spare.

Georgia’s new distracted driving laws take effect July 1. Text messaging will be banned for all drivers. Drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using cell phones, regardless of whether a hands-free device is attached. Young drivers also are banned from using laptop computers and portable games. Violations will cost motorists $150.

No such problems in Connecticut, where Gov. Jodie Rell approved her own plan to toughen existing distracted driving laws. This ends the previous law’s policy of forgiveness for some first-time offenders.

Connecticut had already outlawed text messaging while driving, handheld cell phone use by adults and all cell phone use by teenage drivers. Fines for violations now increase to $100 (first offense), then $150 and $200 instead of the current $100. Also, the law’s wording specifically bans texting while driving, reportedly not clear before.

In Vermont, Gov. James Douglas signed into law a ban on text messaging and on cell phone use for drivers under 18. Fines start out at $100 for first offenders and then escalate to $250. The laws are effective immediately.

In Kansas, a ban on text messaging while driving has been signed into law by Gov. Mark Parkinson. The ban goes into effect Jan. 1.

On the local front, Clemson, S.C.; Missouri City, Texas; and Belpre, Ohio, are the latest cities to ban texting.

Drivers: We’re texting, talking less

U.S. drivers have cut back on talking and texting, thanks in part to distracted-driving laws, legislation and awareness, according to a new survey.

Nationwide Insurance reports that about 40 percent of drivers who admit to texting while behind the wheel say they do it less frequently than they did a year ago.

Of the 47 percent of drivers who say they engage in phone conversations while on the road, 30 percent reported that they do it less than last year.

While the time spent on these distracted driving behaviors apparently is down, the percentage of people who admit to texting and talking while behind the wheel held steady.

“This is the first survey we’ve seen showing drivers making positive changes in their behavior, but there are still too many drivers who either don’t realize just how dangerous distractions behind the wheel are, or are willing to take that risk,” said Bill Windsor, Nationwide’s associate vice president of Consumer Safety.

Nationwide has done a number of studies on distracted driving behaviors. In this survey, Harris Interactive spoke with 1,005 drivers, enough to provide a representative sample for the nation.

The survey relies on self-reporting, always a problem with illegal or dangerous behaviors. “The stigma now associated with distracted driving may also have fewer people willing to admit they do it,” Windsor says.

Hands-free devices are used by about half of the drivers in the West, where California and Washington are among the states that require their use for motorists using cell phones. In the Midwest, the percentage of drivers who said they used hands-free frequently was only 13 percent.

Overall, 65 percent of the drivers said they rarely or never used hands-free attachments for cell phones.

Other finding in the distracted driving survey:

• Drivers who made more than $100,000 a year were more than twice as likely to use hands-free devices than those who made less.
• Two-thirds of those who use hands-free accessories say they feel safer while driving and talking.
• Drivers with touch-screen cell phones are more likely to talk and text. 40 percent of them say it makes text messaging and dialing easier than with conventional cell phones.
• Curiously, 18 percent say they have programmed a GPS device while driving, almost the same percent who report that they look for radio stations while behind the wheel.
• Putting on makeup — often cited as a danger by foes of distracted driving bills — registered with only 3 percent of drivers.

The survey of adults 18 and over was conducted between April 20 and 27.