Distracted driving crashes killed fewer people in 2012, but the number of injuries was up significantly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 3,328 died in the distracted driving crashes, down slightly from 2011's 3,360 fatalities. About 421,000 injuries occurred in 2012, a 9 percent increase from the previous year (387,000). The NHTSA said it is "just beginning to identify distraction-related accidents," so the totals of death and injuries no doubt are higher -- as has been the case since use of mobile communications devices while behind the wheel became an issue in … [Read more...]
Foxx takes the reins of DOT
July 2, 2013 by 1 Comment
Anthony Foxx was sworn in as secretary of Transportation and quickly got to work meeting DOT staffers. Foxx replaces Ray LaHood, whose campaign against distracted driving helped put the issue on the nation's social and political agenda. Foxx was mayor of Charlotte, N.C., until Monday. Foxx was confirmed by the Senate in a unanimous vote of June 27. Foxx cited safety as the top priority at the Department of Transportation. In a hearing, he said the war on distracted driving would go on, as LaHood had "baked that into the DNA" at the DOT. None of the statements attributed to Foxx upon … [Read more...]
Charlotte’s Foxx picked as new DOT chief
April 29, 2013 by 1 Comment
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...]
Teen driver deaths reported up 19%
February 27, 2013 by 4 Comments
Teenage driver deaths are up 19 percent, a new study shows, suggesting that the fatality count for 16- and 17-year old drivers will increase for the second straight year. The Governors Highway Safety Association statistics compared the first halves of 2011 and 2012. (Annual accident reports typically lag well behind the end of the year.) The group said that if final data continued the trend, then 2012 would follow 2011 in posting an increase in teen driver deaths. Before 2011, there were eight straight years of decreases. The GHSA did not indicate distracted driving was a suspect in the … [Read more...]
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