North Dakota bans texting, driving

North Dakota, one of the few remaining states without any distracted driving law, has just become the 31st state to ban text messaging while driving.

State Rep. Larry Klemin’s House Bill 1195 prohibits all drivers from using a wireless communications device to read, write and send an electronic message (includes email).

The bill was signed April 26 by Gov. Jack Dalrymple. The North Dakota texting and driving law takes effect Aug. 1, with fines of $100. Enforcement is primary.

Dalrymple said at the signing ceremony: “Texting while driving is clearly a dangerous distraction that can result in serious injury or death, and I’m glad to see we are joining a growing number of states that are taking this action to make our roads a safer place.”

In 2009, Klemin (pictured) saw his bill that would have banned text messaging soundly defeated in the House.

The governor also approved the sweeping teen traffic safety bill House Bill 1256. Among its provisions is a ban on electronic communications device use by drivers under the age of 18. That means no texting or talking for teen drivers — no hands-free devices.

North Dakota currently has no statute that punishes distracted driving.

Sponsors of both successful bills pointed to North Dakota’s getting in step with the nationwide movement toward meaningful distracted driving and teen safety laws.

“Today, North Dakota joins 30 other states and the District of Columbia in enacting a law to prohibit texting while driving by all drivers,” said Klemin, R-Bismarck, of his HB 1195.

“House Bill 1256 moves North Dakota closer to the rest of the country in helping young drivers receive more opportunities to gain driving experience, promote driving safely, reduce teen accidents and most importantly, save young people’s lives,” said sponsor Rep. George Keiser, also R-Bismarck.

The governor added that “our youngest and most inexperienced drivers will benefit from a process that will better prepare them for the road and help keep them and others safe.”

Distracted driving fighter Ray LaHood, secretary of Transportation, press-released: “North Dakota has taken an important step to eliminate distracted driving. Thanks to the bill signed today by Governor Dalrymple, North Dakota roads will be safer for everyone.”

The text messaging ban was initially rejected by the House Transportation Committee. The panel then deadlocked twice on the bill, but a supporter changed his vote to “no” so the measure could finally move out of committee and on to the House floor, where it was approved.

The bill was watered down in the Senate, however. The following penalties for texting behind the wheel were removed by Senate on March 28, just before voting its approval: “Two points against license (first offense), then four points. For third and subsequent violations, one-year suspension of driver’s license.”

The House gave its final approval April 5.

’20/20′ probes distracted driving

The ABC “20/20″ report opened with a trio of startling clips: a screaming young woman’s car is “t-boned” in a parking lot; a terrified new driver plunges into a snowbank; a trucker veers across four lanes before rolling over.

The common denominator: all three were using cell phones before their crashes.

The images were captured by “drive cams,” which allow parents and bosses to review footage of incidents such as these.

The “20/20″ segment was reported by Chris Cuomo, who admitted he occasionally texted while driving — “I am one of you.”

The ABC piece (video at bottom of page) rounded up three of the often-seen sources in the battle against distracted driving. They agreed that “a cultural revolution” was needed to stop the deadly practices of text messaging and talking on cell phones while driving.

FocusDriven co-founder Jennifer Smith told Cuomo, “We’ve just got to make this not cool.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “This is hard because we’re trying to change dangerous behavior. But it’s not any harder than getting drunk drivers off the roads, which took 20 years, and it’s not any harder than getting 85% of the people to buckle up, it took 20 years. This is hard work.”

University of Utah researcher David Strayer joined Smith in saying that allowing hands-free operation of cell phones was no solution: “The brain still overloads,” Strayer’s research shows. Smith said her goal is “A total ban on all cell phone use while driving.”

Other witnesses on the show were a young woman left in a wheelchair as a result of her texting, and a Consumer Reports researcher who pointed to the ridiculously small navigation graphics on Ford’s InSynch dashboard system.

The segment also brought a couple of cocky texters & talkers to a test driving facility, where they proceeded to demonstrate just how bad their driving was while distracted. The ABC reporter ran right through some pop-up road markers that represented a kid running into the road.

A guy who leads a group of driving-and texting fans on Facebook was impressed, somewhat: “I’m probably going to cut back.”

Strayer said his studies of on-the-road “inattention blindness” indicated that only 2% of drivers safely can make cell phone calls while behind the wheel.

No one has been able to text and drive safely, he reported.

FocusDriven’s Smith, who lost her mother to a cell-phoning teen, had the last word: “This isn’t about civil liberties and personal freedom. I can’t remember ever learning anything about the freedom in this country was to talk on the phone while you drive. And put people’s lives in jeopardy.”

Part 1 of the “20/20″ report on distracted driving:

Part 2

Part 3

Illinois summit hears success story

Citing a “tremendous grassroots groundswell against distracted driving,” DOT chief Ray La Hood opened the Illinois Distracted Driving Summit on a bullish note.

“I can’t think of another safety issue in American history that’s gained so much traction in such a short period of time,” LaHood said at the April 21 distracted driving conference, sponsored by the safety advocate group FocusDriven and the National Safety Council.

LaHood cited:

• A boost from the entertainment industry, with Justin Bieber, Emma Roberts and Jordin Sparks spending their time and money on distracted driving prevention. Oprah Winfrey, as well, has been a celebrity face of the war on handheld cell phone use over the past 15 months.
• Corporate bans on employees driving while using cell phones on the job. LaHood cited DuPont as an example of businesses looking out for their employees and others’ safety on the road. DuPont was a corporate sponsor of the Illinois distracted driving conference, along with the Allstate Foundation.
• Student-led efforts across the country and the many “Just Hang Up” campaigns.

LaHood, perhaps, had some distractions of his own that morning, with news reports continuing to fuel outrage over air traffic controllers who sleep on the job. One distracted controller was busted for watching a DVD movie while monitoring the skies.

The distracted driving conference was in the village of Addison, west of Chicago. Other speakers from the political spectrum included Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White (keynote); Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, D-6th District; and Illinois Rep. John D’Amico, D-15th District.

FocusDriven co-founder Jennifer Smith said, “I challenge families and friends of distracted driving victims nationwide to hold their own state summits and demand action in their communities.” Smith talked about her mother’s death, three years ago, caused by a cell-phoning driver.

FocusDriven used the occasion to introduce its new web site, which brings a slicker and more informational approach to the group’s online presence.

Janet Froetscher, head of the National Safety Council, told the gathering: “Through the summit, we’re helping FocusDriven build resources others can use to (enact) change in their states. The perspectives and experiences of U.S. Secretary LaHood, Secretary White, state legislators, victim families and other experts will help augment the resources NSC and FocusDriven have already developed.”

The NSC says 1 in 4 vehicle crashes can be linked to cell phone use, handheld or otherwise.

The local politicians and FocusDriven’s Smith have some work to do in ther own backyard. Illinois has no ban on handheld cell phone by adults, except for school and construction zones. A recent survey suggests that as many as 40 percent of motorists on the Illinois Tollway don’t know it is illegal to text while driving on state roads and highways.

Panels ran throughout the day, on the topics “When Tragedy Strikes,” “Unlocking Dangerous Behavior” and “Steering Springfield.” Another panel discussed how to get students and schools involved at the local level, and law enforcement in Illinois was covered in “On the Patrol.”

Also, the NSC’s David Teater talked about corporate cell phone policies and a group of Illinois physicians and researchers covered trauma associated with distracted driving. (View distracted driving panels.)

U.K. teen imprisoned for texting death

A young driver who killed a grandmother while read a text message in southeast England, has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail.

Photographers captured images of Keisha Wall, 19, of Reading as she walked into court clutching her mobile phone. She denied text messaging and said her mother, a driving instructor, may have grabbed her wheel, causing the fatality.

Christine Lyon, 63 (pictured), died in February 2010 when Wall’s vehicle jumped the curb. Lyon was pinned up against a wall, where she was crushed and killed instantly.

The court heard evidence that Wall received and read a text message seconds before the fatality occurred. The jury and judge rejected her version of events. Wall’s mother did not testify in support of the young woman’s claim that she grabbed the wheel.

The judge told Wall: “By your actions that day, you deprived a loving family of their mother and grandmother and a husband of his wife of more than 40 years. The simple fact is that she would be alive today if you had not behaved so irresponsibly. This was a wholly avoidable accident, which caused a wholly avoidable death. Only you are to blame.”

Wall could have been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Mitigating factors in the sentencing were listed as “good character” and “remorse,” but the victim’s family released a statement saying: “The fact that Keisha Wall denied liability just added insult to injury. We have never had an apology.”

Wall also has been banned from driving for three years. She was taken into custody immediately and will serve her time in a youth offenders facility.

The judge also expressed hope that the English distracted driving sentence “will add to the message which the courts have been consistently sending out about the dreadful and avoidable consequences of using a mobile behind the wheel.”

Read the European distracted driving news page.

It’s April, distracted driving month

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, debuting this year with the support of safety advocates, law enforcement agencies and the U.S. DOT.

Former U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey, pictured, made the designation official last year, with the help of the victims and survivors group FocusDriven.

The California Highway Patrol is one of many law enforcement agencies nationwide that have adopted a “zero tolerance” enforcement policy for the month. More than 225 California police agencies and 103 California Highway Patrol agencies are participating in the crackdown.

Markey’s resolution began by invoking the name of 9-year-old Erica Forney of Fort Collins, Colo., who was struck and killed by a distracted driver in 2008.

The House voted to support the designation of April as distracted driving awareness month and encouraged “all people in the United States to consider the lives of others on the road and avoid distracted driving.”

The resolution (H.Res. 1186) was introduced March 16, 2010, and approved by a near-unanimous roll call vote a week later. The two lawmakers opposed to the distracted driving awareness month resolution were Republicans from Texas and Illinois.

Markey, D-Colorado, lost her seat to a Republican in the fall 2010 election.

Erica Forney’s mother, Shelley, one of the co-founders of FocusDriven, said in response to the House of Representatives’ vote:

My husband and I thank congresswoman Markey and the House for approving this resolution. We believe National Distracted Driving Awareness Month can help raise awareness nationwide on the dangers of talking or texting on a cell phone while driving. Erica’s memory will forever live on through this resolution and help prevent other distracted driving deaths from occurring.