The National Safety Commission Alerts
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Department of Transportation Announces Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced a new
initiative designed to crack down on distracted driving and to encourage states
to enact stronger laws against distracted driving.
Citing figures that 3,092 people were killed in
distraction-affected crashes in 2010, Secretary LaHood called for several
measures to help end distracted driving. The plan:
- Encourages the remaining 11 states without distracted driving laws to enact and enforce this critical legislation.
- Challenges the auto industry to adopt new and future guidelines for technology to reduce the potential for distraction on devices built or brought into vehicles.
- Partners with driver education professionals to incorporate new curriculum materials to educate novice drivers of driver distraction and its consequences. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show drivers under the age of 25 are two to three times more likely than older drivers to send text messages or emails while driving.
- Provides all stakeholders with actions they can take that go beyond personal responsibility to helping end distracted driving nationwide.
Based on the success of the "Click It or Ticket" campaigns,
the Secretary announced that California and Delaware have been selected to
receive federal support for pilot projects that will that will expand the
Department's "Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other"
program and test the effect of increased law enforcement and high-profile
public education campaigns on distracted driving.
The DOT announcement coincides with the release of the
Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) 2011 National Youth Risk
Behavior Survey (YRBS) that showed, while in some areas, teen drivers are
becoming safer but when it comes to communication technology, teens are still
taking far too many risks.
The survey showed that, nationwide, one out of three students had
texted or e-mailed while driving a car or other vehicle on at least 1 day
during the 30 days before the survey. The figures are even worse for older
teens with 42.9% of 11th-graders and 58% of 12th-graders having sent an email
or text while driving in the 30 days prior to the study.
Labels: click it or ticket, distracted driving
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