Sequel to U.S. distracted driving summit

Citing a “powerful momentum” from last year’s national summit on distracted driving, the Department of Transportation plans a sequel for Sept. 21.

DOT chief Ray LaHood sent out the call to transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement, mobile phone and auto industry reps, safety researchers, and those whose lives have been shattered by distracted drivers. The event will be in Washington, D.C.

LaHood, who has seen his personal brand soar with his campaigning on the distracted driving issue, says a new national summit is needed:

“We’ve learned a lot in the past year, but there is plenty of new information to share. … With 6,000 people being killed annually by distracted driving and more than half a million others being injured — we can’t afford to be satisfied,” LaHood wrote on his “Fast Lane” DOT blog.

“We’re not about to rest now,” LaHood wrote.

The DOT pointed to these accomplishments since the 2009 Distracted Driving Summit:

• Dozens of new state and local distracted driving laws and bills.
• The texting and driving ban for federal workers.
• Establishment of the Focus Driven advocacy group.
• The U.N. “Global Call” for an end to distracted driving.
• Pilot enforcement sweeps in Hartford and Syracuse (currently under way).

Missouri: Show us the ban, not the logo

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s heart seems in the right place with its new public safety campaign against texting and driving.

Certainly there’s a need: So far this year there have been 17,535 crashes in the Show Me State where distracted driving was cited as a contributing cause.

The highway patrol even arranged for a race car to bear the logo for the no-texting campaign, one of those red-cross-out designs that says “no texting.” Want a decal for your very own car? They’re free to the public as window clingers.

One slight problem. If you’re a driver 21 or older in Missouri, feel free to text to your heart’s content. It’s perfectly legal. Same with cell phone use while driving, which has killed at least eight people on state roads since Jan. 1.

The highway patrol explains, sort of:

The campaign complements Missouri’s current anti-texting law, which prohibits use of cell phones or texting devices for drivers 21 years of age and younger. (We call on) all Missouri drivers to honor the letter and the spirit of the law — regardless of age — and stop texting while driving to help make Missouri’s highways safer for all motorists.

We’re reminded of the recent Pew survey that concluded adults are just as likely to text and drive as teenagers. Texting doesn’t seem to level off until drivers are in their mid-30s.

Of course, state troopers don’t make laws, they enforce them. But consider that the various efforts to expand the texting ban to all drivers failed in Missouri’s last legislative session. The primary reason — make that, excuse? Law agencies’ complaints that enforcement would be too difficult.

The House Public Safety Committee chairman, Mark Bruns, in fact, blocked all text messaging legislation that came through his domain because “too many questions remain on how to enforce it properly.”

The highway patrol’s chief of staff attended one texting while driving hearing before Bruns and said the law agency had no position on a texting ban. But the spokesman noted that the highway patrol promoted safety.

Public safety campaigns are no substitute for laws against deadly behaviors.

The highway patrol needs to help quash talk of enforcement woes and embrace all-ages bans on handheld electronic devices.

Lawmakers need to follow the lead of distracted driving opponents such as Rep. Rodney Schad and state Sen. Ryan McKenna, who see “an epidemic” of texting on state roads and highways.

Come on, Missouri. Show us something real. Then play with race cars.

Safety law foes quit after LaHood lashing

Washington lobbyists who planned to fight distracted driving laws and legislation have backed down after a scolding from the head of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The would-be DRIVE Coalition withdrew its proposal for a corporate-backed campaign after the DOT’s Ray LaHood blasted the initiative at a press conference, dubbing it “a new effort to rile up corporate America and undermine the achievements of our campaign against distracted driving.”

A spokesman for DRIVE said it had achieved the goal of expanding the distracted driving debate beyond electronic devices. The lobbyists had called the tech and auto industries “collateral damage” in the national movement to rein in distracted drivers.

News of the proposal from the Seward Square Group made national headlines last week after an investigative web site posted the group’s recruitment pitch to wireless, tech, insurance and auto companies.

The media-conscious LaHood quickly scheduled a press conference for after the holiday break.

At Wednesday’s DOT press conference, LaHood revisited the dangers of telephoning while driving, saying 28 percent of wrecks were linked to cell phones. “To suggest (cell phone use is not dangerous) is to put your head in the sand. To spend considerable resources to suggest otherwise is a glaring waste.

“That’s why I was stunned to read that anyone would organize an effort to undercut road safety, much less declare that the ‘auto, tech, and insurance industries have become collateral damage.’ ”

Jim Hall, who headed the National Transportation Safety Board for the Clinton administration, attended the press conference to deny the DRIVE coalition’s claim that he would have spearheaded the campaign, saying his views were misrepresented. Hall, however, does work with the Seward Square Group.

Considering the publicity generated by the plan, it’s not surprising that Babak Zafarnia, the would-be coalition’s spokesman, declared a victory of sorts:

“We are pleased that the concept has met its goal of expanding dialogue on distracted driving, therefore the proposed coalition is no longer being pursued,” he said in a statement. “We commend Secretary LaHood for his leadership in bringing a comprehensive view to this complex issue.”

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. said it will add a “do not disturb” function to its Sync communications system. The intent is to block functions “that are not relevant to the task of driving while the vehicle is in motion,” Ford said.

That includes incoming phone calls and text messages, which are routed for later access.

The do not disturb button will be added to the carmaker’s controversial My Ford Touch system (an upgraded Sync), which includes a Web browser. Ford said drivers won’t be able to use its Internet functions while in motion. Typing on a keyboard and entering destination details on GPS also are blocked to drivers.

LaHood recently expressed concerns about the new media applications being added to motor vehicles in an effort to please the wired generations.

Lobbyists fight distracted driving laws

A Washington lobbying group has been pitching cell phone companies and car manufacturers on a plan to derail distracted-driving legislation, according to several media reports this week.

July 7 update: The lobbyists abandoned the effort to derail distracted driving laws after a scolding from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The lobbyists said they had succeeded in opening up the debate — at any rate they succeeded in attracting a lot of publicity /update

Oprah Winfrey and the DOT’s LaHood are seen as threats to the mobile communications industry, according to the 10-page memo obtained by the FairWarning investigative site. The memo cites a “full-throttle assault on mobile technology,” the FairWarning report says.

The Washington Post identified the lobbyists behind the push as Seward Square Group and Eris Group. Eris, however, told the Post that it had withdrawn from the effort due to client conflicts.

In response to the memo, a DOT spokesman told the Post: “We are doing everything possible to combat talking on the phone and texting while driving and others who care about safety will join our effort — not undermine it.”

DRIVE — which stands for “Drivers for Responsibility, Innovation and Vehicle Education” — plans to advocate awareness instead of laws and legislation, FairWarning reports. Spearheading the campaign would be James E. Hall, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board for the Clinton administration, the memo says.

GPS makers, insurance companies and public safety groups also were targeted for the push, the Post said.

New distracted driving laws in 4 states

Texting and driving means trouble with the law in four new states.

Georgia, Michigan, Iowa and Wyoming all saw their legislature’s distracted driving plans become effective July 1.

Across the states, drivers fretted over what was allowed and what was not, and law officers raised the usual concerns about enforcement.

In Michigan, a spokesman for the police chiefs association wasn’t happy: “It’s going to be very difficult for us,” he said.

But in Iowa, a Sioux City officer said, “We’ve all seen people driving and texting — it’s pretty obvious what they’re doing.”

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue also had his doubts about enforcing a ban on text messaging while behind the wheel. He signed the “Caleb Sorohan Act for Saving Lives by Preventing Texting While Driving” after raising the specter of a veto. (Sorohan was a teen killed in a texting-related crash.)

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

Texting and driving now merits a ticket in Georgia. Drivers under the age of 18 also are prohibited from using cell phones, regardless of whether a hands-free device is attached. Violations of the new distracted driving laws bring a $150 fine.

Join the debate over Georgia’s new texting and cell phone laws.

Michigan’s governor gladly signed that state’s new distracted driving laws. Gov. Jennifer Granholm even enacted the no-texting-while driving bills into law on a “No Phone Zone” special on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

In Michigan, text messaging has been outlawed for all drivers. Fines are $100 (first offense) and then $200.

Read more about Michigan’s distracted driving laws.

In Iowa, violators are off the hook for a year, during a legislature-mandated education period. After that, fines begin at $30 and go up to $1,000 for those causing a serious accident while texting.

Iowa banned text messaging for all drivers and prohibited teens with restricted licenses from using all handheld electronic devices while behind the wheel.

Enforcement for adults is “secondary,” meaning police need another reason to stop violators before writing the citation. Teen offenders (14-18) can be pulled over and cited for violations without other cause, however. Mandating secondary enforcement generally is seen as watering down distracted driving laws.

Read about Iowa’s distracted driving laws.

In Wyoming, an effort to water down the new text messaging law was defeated in the legislative process. So as of July 1, distracted drivers face primary enforcement with fines of $75.

Sen. Floyd Esquibel, D-Cheyenne, said that while his newly minted law banning text messaging does apply to all drivers, it is aimed at the generation hooked on texting. The new law is “primarily for an age group that is already at high risk simply because of age,” he said after the measure was approved.

Latest news on Wyoming’s ban on text messaging.