The second Distracted Driving Summit will devote several hours to using the media to combat text messaging and handheld cell phone use by motorists. Attendees at the one-day session on Sept. 21 will hear presentations on the topics "Social Media: Reaching the Younger Generation and Beyond," "Public Service Ads: What Does and Does Not Work," "Communications and Media," "Marketing/Advertising Using Traditional Media" and "Media Relations/Earned Media." In keeping with the media outreach theme, the 2010 Distracted Driving Summit will be webcast live from Washington at distraction.gov. “One … [Read more...]
Election hot button: distracted driving
September 11, 2010 by 2 Comments
Distracted driving has yet to emerge as an election issue in the U.S., but it's making news on the campaign trail in Canada's New Brunswick province. The current Liberal government has come under fire once again for its foot-dragging in enacting specific distracted driving laws. New Brunswick remains one of two Canadian provinces without laws against text messaging while driving. Political Conservatives have said several times during their campaign for the fall election that they’ll promptly enact distracted driving legislation if victorious in the fall. The issue hit the front burner Sept. … [Read more...]
Deaths from distracted driving: a sample
September 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment
The debate over distracted driving too often bogs down in statistics, politics and theory. Here is a dose of reality, taken from U.S. and Canadian police reports made over the past 12 months: A funeral was held this week for a teenager who died in a New Brunswick texting-and-driving accident. He was sending a text message when he lost control of his car and crashed into a rock wall. ... A 17-year-old girl died after she drove into a ditch and rolled her car because she was distracted while sending a text message, Iowa investigators say. ... An Arden, N.C., teenager killed in a car crash was … [Read more...]
Distracted pet owners warned of risks
August 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment
The safety hazards of unrestrained pets in motor vehicles were highlighted this week as a AAA study suggested that only 17 percent of dog owners restrain their animals in vehicles. Researchers warned of possible roadway "devastation" as a result. One in five of the dog owners surveyed said that while driving they allowed pets to sit in their laps. The AAA survey on pets said almost 60 percent of drivers who transport their dogs engaged in other distracted driving behaviors at the same time. In a bizarre coincidence, an L.A. plastic surgeon died in Malibu not long after Tweeting and texting … [Read more...]
NY fatalities pinned on distracted driving
August 18, 2010 by 1 Comment
New York City's study of its severe/fatal pedestrian accidents points to distracted driving as public enemy No. 1. "The most common reason listed for a crash was driver inattention, a factor in 36% of pedestrian (killed or seriously injured) crashes," the report by NYC transportation planners found. The distracted driving accidents proved to be more than twice as deadly as those with other causes. The study looked at more than 7,000 crashes in the city between 2002 and 2006. In the four years since that time, "electronic distracted driving has become more pressing as cellphones, computers … [Read more...]
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