Those who like to text or talk on their cell phone while driving simply aren’t getting the message that they are endangering lives — so the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration continues to raise awareness about distracted driving.
On the homepage of its Distraction.Gov website, NHTSA states, “We are leading the effort, but you are the key to preventing distracted driving. The message is simple: Put it down!”
It’s a message even school bus drivers need to hear. This week, a Semmes, Ala., parent accused her children’s school bus driver of continually talking and texting while driving students and coming close to serious accidents. A Colorado school bus driver charged in a 2010 crash that killed a teenager was allegedly talking on his cell phone at the time.
According to NHTSA, 20 percent of injury-crash reports in 2009 contained incidents of distracted driving. It is also the No. 1 killer of American teens. In addition, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
Besides stats and facts, the new NHTSA website provides information on state laws and recent research on distracted driving as well as campaign tools from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The “Distracted Driving News” featured on the homepage includes articles on several states, including Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois, currently proposing legislation to ban texting while driving. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have already enacted such laws.
The site’s homepage also contains photos of distracted driving victims — similar to what Mothers Against Drunk Driving has done for drunk driving since the 1980s — with a “Faces of Distracted Driving” public service announcement. Like MADD, NHTSA is working to put an end to the tragedies that too often result from distracted driving and to increase penalties for these violations.
One of the youngest victims of driving while texting is 2-year-old Calli Murray of Rohnert Park, Calif., who was killed when struck by a teenager allegedly speeding and sending a text message. The 18-year-old driver recently pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge, and she is expected to get probation and 300 hours of community service.
The comparison with MADD is in line with University of Utah research showing that using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having the legal blood-alcohol limit of .08 percent.
