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).

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.

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.

‘Erica’s Law’ goes to Congress

States that don’t ban cell phone use by drivers in school zones would lose federal funding under a bill proposed by Colorado congresswoman Betsy Markey.

“Erica’s Law” is named after 9-year-old Erica Forney, who was killed by a driver using a cell phone. The girl was biking home after school. Erica lived in Markey’s district of Fort Collins.

Several bills are pending in Congress that would tie distracted driving laws and federal highway funding, including one sponsored by West Virginia’s Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

Colorado’s ban on text messaging went into effect in December. A hands-free provision was stripped from the legislation (HB 1094) before passage, however. The law also prohibits drivers under 18 from using any kind of cell phone. Gov. Bill Ritter signed the text-messaging ban in Fort Collins as a reminder of Erica.

“When any of us get behind the wheel of a car, driving safely and responsibly must be our number one priority,” said Markey, a Democrat. “Having seen the tragedy of distracted driving strike so close to home in my own community and as a mother of three, it is the responsibility of all Americans to help safeguard our children, and there’s no better place to start than in our neighborhoods’ school zones. …

“Studies show that distracted driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving,” Markey added.

Erica Forney’s mother, Shelley, said she communicated with Markey on the bill, which is “phenomenal.”

Markey recently pushed through the congressional designation of April as Distracted Driving Awareness month. She also hosted a distracted driving summit in Fort Collins on March 27.

DOT seeks full trucking & texting ban

The nation’s interim ban on text messaging by truckers is on the road to becoming permanent.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it had officially proposed the rule and was entering a 30-day comment period.

“We get that the trucking biz is hard,” DOT chief Ray LaHood tweeted after the announcement. “We’re just trying to save lives.”

The rule applies to interstate truckers and bus drivers whose vehicles weigh more than 10,000 pounds. Violators would face fines and possible disqualification from commercial trucking. The interim ban was based on interpretation of existing regulations.

A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study from last summer found that the truckers who were texting were 23 times more likely to get in a wreck. The DOT helped pay for the texting and trucking study.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief Anne Ferro said: “We are committed to using every resource available to eliminate the dangers of distracted driving. And this rule-making to prohibit texting by interstate commercial truck and bus drivers reinforces that commitment.”

The trucking industry has been carefully watching any efforts to limit technology in its big rigs, but appears to support this action. The DOT rule would not prohibit talking on cell phones, or using devices like GPS or in-cab fleet management systems. The FMCSA said it “plans to address these distractions in future rulemakings.”

One of the highest-profile tragedies involving a tractor-trailer came on Florida’s infamous “Bloody 27″ highway, heavily used by truckers. Heather Hurd, 27, was killed by a trucker who was fumbling for his text messaging device as he slammed into her vehicle, which was stopped at a red light. Her fiance was seriously injured and another woman died as well. The fatality inspired Heather’s Law, which is back before the Florida Senate this year as SB 244.

The DOT signaled its intention to pursue the interstate ban on text messaging at last fall’s Distracted Driving Summit.

The DOT unveiled a new web site for comments on regulations, which in this case will be accepted until May 3.

Texting banned for truckers, bus drivers

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) have exempted these devices.

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 could be next on the DOT’s agenda.

President Obama has banned text messaging for federal employees driving U.S. vehicles.

DOT adds ‘distracted flying’ to probe

“Distracted flying” is now under investigation by the Transportation Department, following news of two Northwest Airline pilots who overshot the Minneapolis airport by 150 miles, apparently while using their using laptop computers.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has widened his department’s initiatives to “distractions as they apply beyond cars — to rail, buses, and now, planes,” a spokesman told the Associated Press on Oct. 28.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called the incident “the ultimate case of distracted driving — only this time it was distracted flying.”

The two pilots, whose licenses have been revoked, were out of touch for almost an hour and a half.

At a Senate hearing on a new distracted driving bill Wednesday, Hood noted that “the problem is not just confined to vehicles on our roads — it affects all modes of transportation.”

Fed workers banned from texting, driving

President Obama has ordered federal employees to stop text messaging while driving on the job.

The news was announced Thursday by Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, left, as he spoke on the final day of the DOT’s distracted driving summit.

“Text messaging causes drivers to take their eyes off the road and at least one hand off the steering wheel, endangering both themselves and others,” the president said as he signed the three-page executive order.

The ban did not include limits on drivers talking on handheld cell phones, echoing the year’s trend in state legislatures.

The ban is identical to the one that went into effect several weeks ago at the National Transportation Safety Board.

Federal employees are prohibited from texting while driving government-owned vehicles or cell phones, or while conducting U.S. business while in their personal cars, or while using federal cell phones.

“This meeting is probably the most important meeting in the history of the Department of Transportation,” LaHood told the conference audience of safety experts, legislators, telcom execs and family members of those killed by texters.

The ban on text messaging by federal staffers is now in effect. The president signed the order Wednesday night, the New York Times reported.

Sure to be much more controversial is a forthcoming ban on interstate truckers and bus drivers. The New York Times also reported Thursday on the phenomenon of cars used as offices, as well as truckers and the computers that they use in their cabs.

Distracted driving an epidemic, summit told

“Distracted driving is a menace to society,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday as he opened the federal summit on text messaging, cell phoning and other forms of dangerous behaviors behind the wheel.

The government was ready with the statistical evidence: 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured in 2008 in which distracted driving was a factor. Sixteen percent of fatal crashes had the link, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found.

“Distracted driving is an epidemic and it seems to be getting worse every year,” LaHood told his audience of experts on traffic safety.

The summit was inspired by the growing national alarm over the problems of inattentive driving, primarily the potentially deadly practice of text messaging while driving, a practice seen as common among young adults.

One of the opening day’s hot topics was whether hands-free devices really do make cell phone use by drivers safer. Another discussion looked at the the difficulties faced by law officers trying to determine if drivers are texting.

One expert called text messaging while driving “the perfect storm that brings together visual, manual and cognitive demands.”

On Thursday, LaHood plans to unveil the steps his DOT will take to address the distracted driving crisis.

Still, “You can’t legislate behavior,” LaHood said. “Taking personal responsibility for our actions is the key.”

The public is invited to view the summit online and to submit questions for the panelists. View the page for the distracted driving webcast.

Distracted driving summit starts Wednesday

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s summit on distracted driving begins Wednesday, bringing more than 200 experts to Washington to address the problems of texting and using cell phones while on the road.

The summit was inspired by the growing national alarm over the problems of inattentive driving, primarily the potentially deadly practice of text messaging while driving, a practice seen as common among young adults.

The public is invited to view the summit online and to submit questions for the panelists. View the page for the distracted driving webcast.

The DOT will issue a series of actions to deal with the crisis once it hears from the gathering of senior transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives, members of Congress and academics who study distracted driving.

The DOT outlined the two-day summit’s agenda like so:

Day 1: A context setting panel where participants will examine the scope of the issue and the various distractions that exist, followed by a panel that will review currently available research. The day wraps with an examination of distractions caused by technology and efforts made to assess and reduce negative effects caused by current and planned devices. Panelists will also consider technology that can prevent the consequences of driver distraction.

Day 2: A review of legislative and regulatory approaches for dealing with distracted driving; evaluations of the impact of such measures; and enforcement issues. Members of Congress and their staff will also have the opportunity to contribute to the discussion. The day concludes with a discussion with teens about their experiences with distracted driving followed by an examination of various public awareness initiatives and research regarding the effectiveness of these efforts.

“The public is sick and tired of people being distracted and causing accidents,” DOT chief Ray LaHood said at an early August press conference announcing the federal summit. “We all know texting while driving is dangerous and we are going to do something about it so that responsible drivers don’t have to worry about it when they or a loved one get on the road.”

Read the full agenda for the distracted driving summit.

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