It takes some guts for the Transportation Secretary to take on the car industry and tech lovers in the same speech. But Ray LaHood has done that, saying carmakers may be adding to the problem of distracted driving by packing too many tech toys in their new vehicles. (The DOT hosts a website that is dedicated to the issue of distracted driving.)
Tuesday, LaHood scolded carmakers who are planning to make it easy for drivers to update Facebook and surf the Web. The Detroit News reported:
“General Motors Co. said this month that it is considering allowing OnStar users to update their Facebook status message through audio recordings and listen to their most recent news feed messages.
“Ford Motor Co. through its Sync feature already allows users to have their e-mails read aloud.
“Automakers worry that policymakers will crack down on in-vehicle systems. The Governors Highway Safety Association is set to consider backing a policy proposal on Sunday that calls for barring both use of hand-held and hands-free cell phones from vehicles.”
LaHood also announced new regulations for some truck drivers and urged employers to get serious about enforcing distracted driving rules. The Washington Post attended the conference that LaHood convened about distracted driving and reported:
“LaHood kicked off his second major conference on distracted driving with the announcement that in-state truck drivers who transport hazardous waste will be banned from sending text messages.
“The move closed a loophole in a year-old ban on texting by truckers and commercial bus drivers, extending the prohibition to include intrastate truckers who deliver gasoline, propane and other hazardous materials.
“LaHood also launched a more concerted effort to get private employers to adopt restrictions on cell phone use by their employees. President Obama a year ago prohibited federal workers from texting while behind the wheel of government vehicles, and from using government-issued cell phones to text even while driving their own cars.”
The DOT’s website provides a comprehensive look at the issue:
- “In 2008, almost 20 percent of all crashes in the year involved some type of distraction. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — NHTSA).
- “Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million were injured. (NHTSA)
- “The younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.
- “Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- “Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)”
The information attributed to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration comes from a 2008 survey, which showed:
- “Nationwide, those drivers observed visibly manipulating hand-held electronic devices increased from 0.7 percent to 1.0 percent.
- “Some 1.7 percent of drivers 16 to 24 years old were observed visibly manipulating hand-held electronic devices, up from 1.0 percent the previous year.
- “More drivers in Western States were observed manipulating hand-held electronic devices (2.1%) than in the other regions of the country (from 0.4% in the Northeast to 0.8% in the Midwest).
- “The use of hand-held devices increased the most in the West, from 0.6 percent in 2007 to 2.1 percent in 2008.
- “The observed use rate of hand-held electronic devices was higher among females (1.2%) than among males (0.8%).”
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