Ash1280
10-01-2009, 06:53 AM
Transportation chief signals goal should put the brakes on drivers texting behind the wheel
By KEN THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
(AP) 04:48:08 AM (ET), Thursday, October 1, 2009 (WASHINGTON)
Targeting text messaging behind the wheel, the Obama administration plans to offer recommendations to address the growing traffic safety risk of distracted driving and the use of mobile devices by multitasking drivers.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, declining to provide specifics, said the administration's "priority now is to really deal with distracted driving as it relates to texting. ... We can really eliminate texting while driving. That should be our goal."
Researchers, safety groups, automakers and lawmakers gathered Wednesday to discuss the perils of distracted driving, hearing sobering data from the government that underscored the safety threat as more motorists stay connected with cell phones and mobile devices. The meeting was to continue a second and final day Thursday.
The Transportation Department reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million were injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, often by mobile devices and cell phones.
LaHood called distracted driving a "menace to society" and said the administration would offer a series of recommendations Thursday to encourage Congress, state governments and the public to curb the unsafe driving behavior. He said the government would draw from past efforts to reduce drunken driving and encourage motorists to wear seat belts.
Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said support was building in Congress to ban text messaging by drivers. Their legislation would require states to ban texting or e-mailing while operating a moving vehicle or lose 25 percent of their annual federal highway funding.
"No text message is so urgent that it's worth dying over," Klobuchar told participants.
The government reported that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured last year in crashes where at least one form of driver distraction was reported. Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008 and was prevalent among many young drivers.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws making texting while driving illegal and seven states and the District have banned driving while talking on a handheld cell phone, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Many safety groups have urged a nationwide ban on texting and on using handheld mobile devices while behind the wheel.
* Betcha we are going to hear more on texting while driving. What goes through my mind is the bus driver texting incident. We all seen the footage.Note there was a handicapped passenger behind him. Lucky the wheelchair did not tipped or lunged forward.
So many fatalities...
Comments ? *
By KEN THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
(AP) 04:48:08 AM (ET), Thursday, October 1, 2009 (WASHINGTON)
Targeting text messaging behind the wheel, the Obama administration plans to offer recommendations to address the growing traffic safety risk of distracted driving and the use of mobile devices by multitasking drivers.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, declining to provide specifics, said the administration's "priority now is to really deal with distracted driving as it relates to texting. ... We can really eliminate texting while driving. That should be our goal."
Researchers, safety groups, automakers and lawmakers gathered Wednesday to discuss the perils of distracted driving, hearing sobering data from the government that underscored the safety threat as more motorists stay connected with cell phones and mobile devices. The meeting was to continue a second and final day Thursday.
The Transportation Department reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million were injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, often by mobile devices and cell phones.
LaHood called distracted driving a "menace to society" and said the administration would offer a series of recommendations Thursday to encourage Congress, state governments and the public to curb the unsafe driving behavior. He said the government would draw from past efforts to reduce drunken driving and encourage motorists to wear seat belts.
Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said support was building in Congress to ban text messaging by drivers. Their legislation would require states to ban texting or e-mailing while operating a moving vehicle or lose 25 percent of their annual federal highway funding.
"No text message is so urgent that it's worth dying over," Klobuchar told participants.
The government reported that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured last year in crashes where at least one form of driver distraction was reported. Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008 and was prevalent among many young drivers.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws making texting while driving illegal and seven states and the District have banned driving while talking on a handheld cell phone, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Many safety groups have urged a nationwide ban on texting and on using handheld mobile devices while behind the wheel.
* Betcha we are going to hear more on texting while driving. What goes through my mind is the bus driver texting incident. We all seen the footage.Note there was a handicapped passenger behind him. Lucky the wheelchair did not tipped or lunged forward.
So many fatalities...
Comments ? *