U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled a "Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving" that includes $2.4 million in funding for enforcement in Northern California and Delaware. LaHood's plan seeks to encourage the 11 states without distracted driving laws to take action, although there were no specifics on how this would be achieved. The new Department of Transportation plan also calls for the auto industry to adopt "new and future guidelines for technology to reduce the potential for distraction," but it was unclear if this signaled any kind of increased pressure on vehicle … [Read more...]
DOT ‘guidelines’ for auto tech
February 16, 2012 by 2 Comments
The Information Super Highway and real highways aren't a good mix, federal regulators say. The Department of Transportation has issued "proposed voluntary guidelines" for automakers who offer digital entertainment and information systems on their vehicles' dashboards. The electronic distraction guidelines include a call to automakers to block text messaging, Internet browsing and social-media use while the vehicle is not stopped and parked. There is also a 2-second limit on driver activity that requires taking their eyes off the road. Drivers would not be able to manually enter the standard … [Read more...]
Truckers: Why no public cell ban?
January 10, 2012 by 13 Comments
The federal government says truck drivers can't talk on handheld cell phones. Fair enough, the pros say -- but what about the "four wheelers" who cause most of the wrecks involving trucks? A week after that federal ban on handheld cell phone use went into effect, the trucking industry seems to have the issue in its rear-view mirror. But some truckers still want to know why professional drivers are being singled out. "I am so tired of hearing, 'The feds can't do anything with four-wheelers,'" one pro wrote in an industry forum. "If they're gonna travel the same roads I do, they can follow the … [Read more...]
LaHood: No blanket cell phone ban
December 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment
DOT chief Roy LaHood says his war on distracted driving won't lead to a full ban on handheld electronics. "The problem is not hands-free," LaHood said at a DOT news conference Dec. 21. "That is not the big problem (with distracted drivers)." LaHood was publicly distancing himself from the National Transportation Safety Board's Dec. 13 call for a blanket ban on cell phones and similar portable electronic devices -- regardless of whether hands-free devices are utilized. To date, all distracted driving laws in the U.S. allow adults to use hands-free devices such as Bluetooth headsets. NTSB … [Read more...]
3,092 die in distraction crashes
December 8, 2011 by 2 Comments
The good news is good indeed: In 2010, U.S. traffic fatalities and injuries reached their lowest numbers since 1949. Another reason for optimism, it might seem: 3,092 people died in accidents connected with distracted driving, down significantly from 2009's 5,474 fatalities. But the bad news lurks in the detail, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration changed its method of tracking distracted driving accidents. "All of our evidence suggests that the problem may actually be getting worse," says federal DOT chief Ray LaHood (pictured). The explanation: "We've narrowed the … [Read more...]
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