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...]
Court: Hands off smartphone GPS
April 6, 2013 by 3 Comments
Use of smartphones as GPS devices long has been a gray area in distracted driving laws, but a California appellate court ruling indicates it's time to put away those map apps. The "plain language" of California's cell phone statute and its legislative history indicate any use of a wireless communications device by drivers that is not hands-free is against the law, the Appellate Division of Fresno Superior Court has ruled. The original conviction of Steven Spriggs was for driving while using a wireless phone (without a hands-free attachment). Spriggs admitted to driving while viewing his … [Read more...]
Running Google Glass off the road
March 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The high-fashion high-tech Google glasses won't be in style for West Virginia motorists. At least that's the idea behind new legislation seeking to outlaw driving while wearing computer headgear with visual displays. Gary Howell, a conservative delegate, said he was inspired to pre-emptively ban the so-called Google Glass by reading articles about the emerging technology. Google Glass is not yet on the market, but the promotional push already is under way. The glasses would run afoul of Howell's proposed law because they "project visual information into the field of vision of the wearer." … [Read more...]
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