What do Oprah, the US Secretary of Transportation, the Triple A, insurance companies and, state and federal legislators have in common?
The US Transportation Department recently proposed to outlaw text messaging while driving by interstate truck and bus drivers. This regulatory action follows up on Transportation Department public service program to reduce distracted drivers that lead to crashes.
The plan would replace an interim ban put in place earlier in the year by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The planned ban applies to bus drivers and truck drivers operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over ten thousand pounds. As an indication of the scope of the issue, the drivers could be facing civil penalities and/or even criminal penalties.
The United States Department of Transportation reports that 5,870 people were killed and over a half million were injured in 2008 in accidents connected to driver distraction. They has not determined how many of those deaths and injuries were linked to mobile device. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration echoes the Transportation Department statistics with an estimate that about eighty percent of crashes are caused by driver distraction. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is sponsoring research to determine the extent of the distracted driver issue. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) states that driver inattention is a determining factor in many crashes, and cell phone calls and texting are some of the most common driver distractions.
State legislatures have responded to the growing outrage over mobile phone use and sending text messages while driving by passing a variety of new laws, inclucing banning handheld mobile phone use or texting by all drivers or restricting mobile phone use or sending text messages for a specific demographic, such as teens or school bus drivers. The GHSA reports that currently 20 states and the District of Columbia restrict drivers of all types of vehicles from texting while behind the wheel. Another nine states against texting by novice drivers. The remaining states are expected to implement the ban eventually. However it is also widely recognized that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are neede. The Governors Highway Safety Association purports to say it supports texting bans for all drivers, but does have concerns about enforcement.
An interesting company with a monitoring solution is Phone Beagle. PhoneBeagle installs on Android and BlackBerry mobile phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other call log activity.
The trucking and passenger bus industries support the texting ban, and many companies have explicit policies restricting sending text messages when driving. The government, industry and safety organizations have found common ground that distracted drivers caused bysending text messages is extremely dangerous, and deserves action. Advocates for addressing the problem also include celebrity Oprah.
Undoubtedly there are many distractions interfering with a driver focusing on driving: changing the radio or a inserting tape or CD, talking to passengers, rubber necking, and of course, using cell phones and sending text messages. Navigational and other interactive devices also cause inattention.
As regulations and technology work to to solve the issues a software package from Phone Beagle is available to help deal with monitoring phone use. Their software is installed on Android and BlackBerry smartphones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log events.
Tags: cell phones, distracted drivers, legislation, mobile, Oprah, Phone Beagle, regulations, text messaging