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 … [Read more...]
4 states OK distracted driving laws
June 7, 2010 by 2 Comments
Distracted driving legislation found favor with the governors of Georgia, Connecticut, Vermont and Kansas in recent days. In Georgia, it was drama on deadline for the text messaging and cell phone bills approved by the Legislature. The governor threatened vetoes, citing enforcement issues. "None of this business is black and white," Gov. Sonny Perdue said. Safety advocates, lawmakers and students lobbied furiously in the final days of the legislative session for Perdue to sign the bills, which he did with no time to spare. Georgia's new distracted driving laws take effect July 1. Text … [Read more...]
Drivers: We’re texting, talking less
June 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
U.S. drivers have cut back on talking and texting, thanks in part to distracted-driving laws, legislation and awareness, according to a new survey. Nationwide Insurance reports that about 40 percent of drivers who admit to texting while behind the wheel say they do it less frequently than they did a year ago. Of the 47 percent of drivers who say they engage in phone conversations while on the road, 30 percent reported that they do it less than last year. While the time spent on these distracted driving behaviors apparently is down, the percentage of people who admit to texting and talking … [Read more...]
U.N. mobilizes against distracted driving
May 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has thrown the U.N.'s weight behind a global push to stamp out distracted driving. Ban also has ordered the U.N.'s 40,000 staffers to stop texting while behind the wheel of the organization's vehicles. Ban said at a New York gathering for the global distracted driving campaign: "We are seeing a major emerging challenge of driver distraction, mainly by using mobile phones. Together we have a message to all drivers of the world -- don't let using a mobile for a few seconds make you and others immobile for life." (Photo, from left: Jennifer Smith, Ban Ki-moon, … [Read more...]
Distracted parents driving teens to texting
May 10, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Teenagers tend to follow their parents' lead when it comes to driving ... and texting? NPR's "Morning Edition" just did a segment on teens, texting and distracted driving, citing anecdotal evidence that youth who see their parents engaged in dangerous behaviors while behind the wheel see that as a green light to do the same. One teen told NPR: "If a parent is always on their cell phone, the teen's like, oh, it's fine. My parents do it all the time. And if their parents haven't crashed, then it's kind of like, okay. It's not going to happen." Amanda Lenhart of the Pew Research Center's … [Read more...]
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