What do Oprah, the US Secretary of Transportation, the Triple A, insurance companies and, state and federal legislators have in common?
The US Department of Transportation just presented a proposal to forbid text messaging at the wheel by interstate truck and bus drivers. This regulatory action follows up on Transportation Department call to reduce distracted drivers that cause accidents.
The proposal would make permanent an interim ban announced earlier in the year by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The proposed ban applies to bus drivers and truck drivers operating vehicles weighing more than five tons. As an indication of the scope of the issue, violators could face civil penalities and/or even criminal penalties.
The US Department of Transportation reported that 5,870 people were killed and about 515,000 were injured in 2008 in accidents involving driver distraction. They didn’t speculate how many of those accidents involved mobile device. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reflects the Transportation Department statistics with an estimate that about eighty percent of accidents are caused by driver distraction. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is funding research to determine the extent of the distraction issue. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reports that driver inattention is a determining factor in many accidents, and mobile phone calls and texting are leading causes of driver distractions.
State legislatures have responded to the growing concern regarding cell phone calls and texting while driving by passing a variety of new laws, inclucing banning handheld cell 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 Governors Highway Safety Association reports that currently 20 states plus Washington DC prohibit drivers of all types of vehicles from sending text messages when driving. Another nine states against texting by new drivers. The remaining states are expected to implement the ban before too long. But it is also believed that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are required. The GHSA says it supports texting bans for all drivers, but does have concerns about enforcement.
An interesting source of a potential solution is Phone Beagle. PhoneBeagle is installed on Android and BlackBerry cell phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log activity.
The trucking and passenger bus trade associations support the text message prohibition, and many companies have explicit policies prohibiting sending text messages while behind the wheel. 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 dealing with the problem also include media powerhouse Oprah.
The issue is emerging as a new phenomenon. As navigation systems, cellphones and other mobile electronics have become ubiquitous in vehicles, safety advocates and the government have pushed for restrictions.
As legislation and technology work to to address the problems a software package from Phone Beagle is available to help deal with monitoring phone use. PhoneBeagle installs on Android and BlackBerry cell phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other call log events.
Tags: cell phones, distracted drivers, legislation, mobile, Oprah, Phone Beagle, regulations, text messaging