The United States Transportation Department recently presented a proposal to ban text messaging at the wheel by interstate truck and bus drivers. This regulatory action follows up on its public service program to mitigate distracted drivers that cause accidents.
The proposal would replace an interim ban put in place earlier in the year by the Transportation Secretary. The proposed ban applies to drivers of passenger buses and commercial trucks operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over five tons. As an indication of the scope of the issue, violators could be facing civil penalties and/or even criminal penalties.
The United States Transportation Department reports almost 6,000 people died and about 515,000 were injured in 2008 in accidents involving driver distraction. They didn’t speculate how many of those deaths and injuries involved an electronic device. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mirror the Transportation Department statistics with an estimate that about eighty percent of crashes are caused by driver distraction. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is sponsoring research to determine the extent of the distracted driver problem. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) states that driver inattention is a determining factor in many accidents, and cell phone use and texting are leading causes of driver distractions.
States aren’t waiting for research reports and are issuing new laws dealing with cell phone calls and texting . The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that twenty states plus the District of Columbia outlaw drivers of all types of vehicles from texting while behind the wheel. Another nine states restricting texting by new drivers. The remaining states are expected to implement the ban before too long. However it is also believed that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technology is neede. The GHSA purports to say it supports texting bans for all drivers, but has doubts about enforcement.
A leading source of a potential solution is Phone Monitoring and Tracking Apps. Phone Monitoring Software installs on Android and BlackBerry mobile phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log events.
The trucking and passenger bus trade associations support the texting prohibition, and many companies have firm policies against texting when behind the wheel. The government, industry and safety organizations have found common ground that distracted drivers caused bysending text messages is extremely dangerous, and deserves action. Advocates for addressing the problem also include media powerhouse Oprah.
Undoubtedly there are numerous distractions interfering with a driver focusing on driving: changing the radio or a inserting tape or CD, talking to passengers, rubber necking, and of course, using cell phones and sending text messages. Navigational and other interactive devices also cause inattention.
As legislation and technology develop to address the problems a software package from Phone Monitoring and Tracking Apps is available to help deal with monitoring phone use. Their software is installed on Android and BlackBerry smartphones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log events.
What do Oprah, the Department of Transportation, the Triple A, insurance companies and, state and federal legislators have in common?
No comments:
Post a Comment