The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the first-ever federally proposed guidelines on driver distraction to encourage automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risk for in-vehicle electronic devices.
The NHTSA-issued guidelines are geared toward vehicles with a 10,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating or less. Type A-1 school buses fall under this category.
The guidelines were released days after President Obama’s 2013 budget request that includes $330 million over six years for distracted driving programs to increase awareness and encourage stakeholders to take action.
The guidelines are the first in a series of guidance documents NHTSA plans to issue to address sources of distraction that require use of the hands and/or diversion of the eyes from the primary task of driving.
“We recognize that vehicle manufacturers want to build vehicles that include the tools and conveniences expected by today’s American drivers,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “The guidelines we’re proposing would offer real-world guidance to automakers to help them develop electronic devices that provide features consumers want—without disrupting a driver’s attention or sacrificing safety.”
The first phase of guidelines were published in today’s Federal Register, and final guidelines will be issued after the agency reviews, analyzes and responds to the public input.
Some of the proposed Phase I distraction guideline recommendations:
- Reduce complexity and task length required by the device;
- Limit device operation to one hand only while the other hand remains on the steering wheel;
- Limit individual off-road glances required for device operation to no more than two seconds;
- Limit unnecessary visual information in the driver’s field of view;
- Limit the amount of manual inputs required for device operation.
The proposed guidelines also recommend disabling certain operations by in-vehicle electronic devices while driving, such as visually and/or manually text messaging; Internet browsing; social media browsing; entering navigation information by having to enter an address; and 10-digit phone dialing.
In December, the NTSB issued a recommendation to all 50 states and the District of Columbia to ban all forms of electronic communications by all motorists. The recommendation was reiterated earlier this month when NTSB released its final report from its investigation into a four-vehicle pile up on Interstate 44 in Missouri in August 2010. The crash involved two school buses. A 16-year-old high school band member riding in one of the buses was killed.
