The distracted driving debate rarely comes down to money, but a Canadian study finds that a ban on cell phones can have economic benefits in addition to saving lives. The University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine says its home province of Alberta could produce an annual savings of $36 million a year by instituting a cell phone ban. The breakdown is $6 million in lower health care costs and $30 million in savings on clearing away wreckage from vehicle crashes. The lead researcher called the revenue proposition "a no-brainer" for the province. But the costs of a ban on using cell phones … [Read more...]
Massachusetts texting ban goes live
October 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Massachusetts’ ban on text messaging is now in full effect. Police are writing tickets, but the lucky might get a warning -- for a while. The new law prohibits all drivers from texting while behind the wheel and bans use of all cell phones by drivers who are 16 and 17 years old. The young drivers are barred from using a variety of devices (TVs, video, PCs) under the heading “mobile electronic devices.” The fines for adults are $100 (first offense), then $250 and $500. Fines for drivers under 18 are $100 plus 60-day license suspension and youth traffic school (first offense), then $250 with … [Read more...]
Texting & driving the top tech story
September 29, 2010 by 1 Comment
The debate over text messaging while driving generated the most news headlines of all technology-related topics, a journalism study found. The dangers of texting while behind the wheel generated 8.5 percent of the technology stories in the mainstream media, according to the project "When Techology Makes Headlines." One in 10 technology stories were dedicated to the subject over a 12-month period, said the report from the Pew Research Center's journalism unit. The most prominent coverage came in the New York Times series "Driven to Distraction," which won a Pulitzer Prize. The NYT project … [Read more...]
Better back back off, texting addicts
September 25, 2010 by 2 Comments
Motorcycle helmet seen on the Web ... … [Read more...]
Texting fingered for 16,000 deaths
September 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Text messaging killed more than 16,000 people on the nation's roads and highways between the years 2002 and 2007, according to a new study. The statistics led researchers to cite an "alarming rise in distracted driving fatalities," based on "a dramatic" increase in text messaging since 2005. Researchers from the University of North Texas Health Science Center crunched the numbers on trends in distracted driving fatalities, driver and crash characteristics, and overall trends in cell phone use and texting usage. The primary source was the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System. … [Read more...]
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