U.S. drivers recognize talking & texting as dangerous activities, but many continue to drive distracted anyway -- even in high-risk traffic situations. Nothing new there, but several recent surveys shed more light on the problem. Results of five recent surveys regarding cell phone and texting use are consistent with attitudinal studies conducted over the past 10 years. The latest numbers strongly suggest that widespread distracted driving educational efforts still have a lot of work left to do. A Roper poll of U.S. adults shows, in fact, that the higher the overall education level, the more … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania bans texting & driving
November 1, 2011 by 3 Comments
Pennsylvania drivers will no longer be able to text message as of early March. Gov. Tom Corbett signed off on legislation Nov. 9 that bans texting while behind the wheel. Fines will be $50. Enforcement is primary, which allows police to pull over drivers for that infraction alone. "No text message is worth a human life," Corbett said during the bill-signing event. "The message of this legislation is drive now and text later." (This content first posted on Nov. 1 and updated on Nov. 9.) Pennsylvania has become the 35th state to outlaw texting while behind the wheel. The state's long-running … [Read more...]
TXT = OCD … or addiction?
October 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The national need to text and talk on handheld portable devices seems to be only growing stronger, as smartphones become as common as watches. Researchers now are talking about the handheld devices in terms of obsession and addiction -- with the potential for disaster when combined with motor vehicle operation. Brains of many cell-phone-using young adults react to ringing and vibrating smartphones as they would to the arrival of a loved one, a recent study in San Diego suggests. The same researcher reports that the sound of a vibrating cell phone ranked third among the most powerful and … [Read more...]
3 new distracted driving laws
October 1, 2011 by 1 Comment
Motorists in Nevada, Maine and Maryland are now subject to new distracted driving regulations. Nevada's ban on text messaging and using handheld cell phones will driving officially went into effect Saturday, Oct. 1. Violators won't be punished for the next three months, though, as law officers are only issuing warnings until Jan. 1. Then it's on to fines that start at $50 and go to $250. In Maryland, legislators have completed their clean-up of the existing texting while driving law. As of Oct. 1, "reading" of text messages is illegal while driving in Maine. Previously, only the writing and … [Read more...]
Chicago eyes distracted bicyclists
September 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Bicyclists in California narrowly escaped having distracted driving prohibitions placed on them recently, when the governor inexplicably vetoed SB 28. Bicyclists squawked up a storm when state Sen. Joe Simitian included them for the first time in his plan for tougher penalties for distracted driving violations. The lobby backed off, but no doubt the two-wheelers' protests helped kill the senator's life-saving plan. Now, distracted bicyclists are under the microscope in Chicago, where the head of the City Council's Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety proposes a ban on handheld cell … [Read more...]
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