In a first for Florida, a distracted driving bill has emerged from the Legislature. The state Senate gave final approval Thursday to a plan that would outlaw text messaging while driving in Florida. (Update: The bill signing is set for May 28. The law will go into effect Oct. 1.) The bill, however, calls for secondary enforcement, preventing police from issuing tickets unless another offense is observed, such as weaving or missing a stop sign. It does not address cell phones. Interviewed Monday, Gov. Rick Scott dodged the direct question of whether he would sign the texting … [Read more...]
Charlotte’s Foxx picked as new DOT chief
April 29, 2013 by 1 Comment
The next U.S. secretary of Transportation will be Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., assuming President Obama has his way. Obama nominated Foxx on Monday, with current DOT chief Ray LaHood (right) nodding approval. The Senate must approve the selection. The president called LaHood one of the best transportation secretaries in history. LaHood, in turn, called Foxx the right man for the job. Both men are friends of the president. "With Mayor Foxx at the helm, the American people can expect DOT's progress to continue unabated during the president's second term," LaHood … [Read more...]
E-dashboard guidelines issued
April 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The U.S. Department of Transportation issued the final version of its "common sense" guidelines for vehicles' built-in communications, entertainment and navigation devices. The guidelines, which are "non-binding" and voluntary, seek to rein in excessively distracting devices in passenger vehicles. They were released April 23 by the DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This first phase of the guidelines address electronic devices installed in vehicles as original equipment -- typically dashboard electronics with visual-manual interfaces. The guidelines call for limits … [Read more...]
Study: Voice texts no safe than typing
April 23, 2013 by 1 Comment
Voice-controlled texting on smartphones is no safer than texting manually, a new study of distracted drivers has found. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute says its tested drivers took about twice as long to react to roadway situations as they did when they weren't texting on a handheld smartphone, regardless of whether they used their hands or voice to read, create and sent texts. The tested drivers looked at the road ahead less frequently as well, the study found. Use of a voice-to-text application did not help drivers keep their eyes on the road compared with straight manual … [Read more...]
‘Seeya soon’: Family shares last words
April 12, 2013 by 3 Comments
The text message in the image at left would seem routine, but the story behind it is heart-wrenching. Police in Greeley, Colo., say that text-messaging thread led to the death of a University of a Northern Colorado student on April 3. Alexander Heit, 22, of Boulder apparently was still typing when he veered into oncoming traffic, jerked the steering wheel to avoid a crash and flipped his vehicle. He died shortly after. Heit's family released the image as a caution to others who would text & drive. "I can't bear the thought of anyone else having to go through something like this," … [Read more...]
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