“Every single time you take your eyes off the road or talk on the phone while you're driving - even for just a few seconds - you put yourself and others in danger.” – U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood
On Thursday, April 26, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood called for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones while driving. The plea was made at the Texas Driving Summit sponsored by insurance company USAA, the Texas Department of Transportation, and the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The secretary was joined by Americans adversely affected by distracted driving, some who are now wheelchair-bound.
LaHood claims that a federal law will provide police “the opportunity to write tickets when people are foolishly thinking they can drive safely” while talking or texting on a cell phone. He compares today’s attitude toward texting and driving to that of drunk driving decades ago: “It used to be that if an officer pulled you over for drunk driving, he would pat you on the back, maybe call a cab or take you home, but he wouldn’t arrest you. Now that has changed, and the same enforcement can work for people who talk on cell phones while driving.”
In fact, recent studies have shown that using a cell phone while driving can be just as dangerous as drinking and driving. A University of Utah study found that using a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free, while driving had the same affect as having a blood alcohol concentration of .08, the legal limit.
National Motorists Association president, Gary Biller asserts that such a law is unnecessary, citing that “it shouldn’t matter if the driver is distracted by a conversation with another vehicle passenger, tuning the radio, eating a snack, or talking on a cell phone. Existing laws cover those distractions and more.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 3,000 fatal traffic accidents last year as a result of distracted driving. The organization created distracted.gov, a Web site dedicated to the subject, to help bring awareness to what LaHood describes as “an epidemic”. The site defines distracted driving as “any time you take your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, and your mind off your primary task: driving safely.” It categorizes three types of distraction: manual (hands off the wheel), visual (eyes off the road), and cognitive (mind off of driving.) You’ll want to note that texting while driving does all three.
Though LaHood and his department are working to decrease all inattentive driving, he explains that he is more concerned about cell phone distractions because “everyone has a cell phone and too many of us think it is okay to talk on our phones while we are driving.” This is especially true for America’s teenagers, who account for 16% of all distracted driving crashes. A survey of 15-21 year old drivers conducted by Bridgestone “indicates America’s teens are in denial about the very real threat distracted driving poses to their safety” explains LaHood. “Only one-third of the [respondents] said that talking on a cell phone while driving is dangerous.“
While talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving is dangerous enough—quadrupling the likelihood of getting into an accident serious enough to cause injury—people who text while driving are 23 times more likely to get into an injury-causing accident. According to NHTSA, sending a text message takes your eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds; and at 55 mph, that is like driving the length of a football field blindfolded.
ITE is asking you to think twice before you use your cell phone, whether hand-held or hands-free, while driving. Nothing is more important than your safety, and that of those whom you are sharing the road with. If you must take or make a call, find a safe place to pull over first.