April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, entering its fifth year. It's an event without an official sponsor, but the NHTSA seems to be taking the lead with its "U Drive. U Text. U Pay." campaign. Meanwhile, law agencies are taking the opportunity to crack down on distracted drivers. Hawaii, California and Connecticut are among the states warning motorists of distracted driving sweeps in April, backed in large part by federal funds. The National Safety Council once again took the occasion to promote the idea that hands-free use of electronic communications devices was no safer than … [Read more...]
Distraction’s toll: $175 billion a year
May 29, 2014 by 1 Comment
Distracted driving crashes cost the United States as much as $175 billion a year, according to a federal study. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says all highway crashes add up to $871 billion -- $277 billion a year in economic costs and $594 billion in "societal harm." Distracted driving crashes accounted for $46 billion (17 percent) of the total economic losses. The societal harm was put at $129 billion (15 percent) of the societal harm. Distraction was among the five key factors listed in the report "The Economic and Societal Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, … [Read more...]
Distracted Driving Awareness Month
April 1, 2014 by 1 Comment
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, entering its fourth year. As with past years, it's an event without an official sponsor, but law agencies are taking the opportunity to crack down on distracted drivers. Distracted driving sweeps and educational campaigns were announced in several major states, including California, Wisconsin and Tennessee. In California, for instance, four days -- April 3, 8, 17 and 22 -- have been earmarked for distracted driving sweeps. "The increased enforcement aims to persuade drivers to recognize the dangers of distracted driving and reduce the number … [Read more...]
Voice-control systems tax drivers
December 16, 2013 by 1 Comment
Drivers using voice-controlled systems take their eyes off the road more than expected, safety researchers have found. The total "glance time" for some interactive tasks appeared to exceed the federal guidelines for visual-manual interactions by drivers. The MIT study delivered a mix of good and bad news: "Both positive features and concerns associated with the use of the voice interface were identified." Age seemed to be linked with the challenges of using these interactive dashboard systems: The results suggested that older drivers tended to be more distracted than younger subjects, … [Read more...]
Foxx checks in on distracted driving
December 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
New federal DOT chief Anthony Foxx has made his first move in the war on distracted driving. The U.S. secretary of Transportation has been largely silent on the issue since his confirmation hearings, a stark contrast to his predecessor, who was for many the face of the national effort against distracted driving. Foxx met Dec. 9 with an unspecified group of "leaders from nearly two dozen organizations" seeking to end distracted driving. The group apparently included representatives of automakers, wireless providers, safety groups and law enforcement agencies. "It was the first of what … [Read more...]
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