California fatalities linked to handheld cell phone use fell by almost half following enactment of the state's ban on use of the wireless devices while driving, a new study indicates. In the two years following the July 2008 adoption of the distracted driving law, handheld cell phone driver deaths decreased 47 percent, the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) at the University of California, Berkeley, found. Similar reductions occurred in the number of injuries, as well as deaths associated with cell phone use with hands-free accessories, SafeTREC said. Overall, … [Read more...]
Comedy of errors in Arizona’s House
March 5, 2012 by 3 Comments
Long resistant to distracted driving laws, Arizona's House appeared to have a sudden change of heart. Representatives approved a statewide ban on text messaging while driving. For a few minutes, anyway. An outbreak of common sense? An awakening to the deadly toll of electronic distracted driving? Hardly. Turns out the reps were just doing their Keystone Cops imitation. A swarm of legislators weren't paying attention days earlier when Rep. Steve Urie added his texting ban language to HB 2125, an unrelated bill concerning accident reporting. After approving the texting/accident reporting … [Read more...]
The wrath of LaHood: a good honking
February 28, 2012 by 5 Comments
DOT chief Ray LaHood must be able to summon the hounds of hell when he encounters cell phoning drivers breaking the law in Washington, D.C., right? Nah. "What I've been doing is kind of honking at somebody if I see him on a cellphone," LaHood told WROP radio the other day. He calls drivers who use cell phones or text "my biggest source of irritation." LaHood told the radio station it was his way of "taking personal responsibility" in the war against electronic distracted driving. Never mind that vehicle horns should be reserved for alerting others to roadway danger, not telling off fellow … [Read more...]
DOT ‘guidelines’ for auto tech
February 16, 2012 by 2 Comments
The Information Super Highway and real highways aren't a good mix, federal regulators say. The Department of Transportation has issued "proposed voluntary guidelines" for automakers who offer digital entertainment and information systems on their vehicles' dashboards. The electronic distraction guidelines include a call to automakers to block text messaging, Internet browsing and social-media use while the vehicle is not stopped and parked. There is also a 2-second limit on driver activity that requires taking their eyes off the road. Drivers would not be able to manually enter the standard … [Read more...]
Text messaging tickets soar in N.Y.
February 15, 2012 by 3 Comments
New York state has seen text messaging ticketing take a sharp rise since since tougher enforcement of electronic distracted driving laws went into effect in July 2011. Overall, law enforcement officers wrote almost 120,000 electronic distracted driving tickets in the seven months from July 12, 2011, to Feb. 7, 2012. Text messaging violations saw the most significant increase, to 7,495 tickets. A new state law made text messaging subject to primary enforcement, while a DMV policy added a third point against the driver's license of electronic distracted driving violators. The bulk of the … [Read more...]
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