What do Oprah, the Department of Transportation, the Auto Club, insurance companies and, state and federal legislators have in common?
The United States Department of Transportation recently presented a proposal to outlaw text messaging while driving by interstate truck and bus drivers. This regulatory action follows up on Department of Transportation public service program to reduce distracted drivers that lead to crashes.
The proposal would replace the temporary ban put in place in January by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The planned ban applies to bus drivers and truck drivers operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over ten thousand pounds. To give an idea of the serious nature of the problem, violators could be facing civil penalities and/or even criminal penalties.
The United States Transportation Department reported almost 6,000 people died and over a half million were injured in 2008 in accidents connected to driver distraction. The department didn’t speculate how many of those accidents involved an electronic device. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mirror the Transportation Department estimates with projection that about eighty percent of accidents are caused by driver distraction. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is funding research to find out the extent of the distracted driver issue. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) states that driver inattention is a determining factor in many crashes, and mobile phone calls and sending text messages are leading causes of driver distractions.
States aren’t waiting for research reports and are passing new laws dealing with mobile phone use and texting . The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that twenty states and the District of Columbia ban all drivers from sending text messages when behind the wheel. An additional nine states prohibiting texting by novice drivers. Most states are expected to implement the ban before too long. But it is also widely recognized that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are required. The Governors Highway Safety Association says it supports texting bans for all drivers, but does have concerns about enforcement.
A leading source of a potential solution is Phone Beagle. Their software is installed on Android and BlackBerry smartphones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other call log activity.
The trucking and passenger bus trade associations support the text message ban, and many corporations have enforced policies prohibiting texting when behind the wheel. The government, industry and safety organizations all agree that distracted drivers caused bysending text messages is extremely dangerous, and deserves action. Advocates for dealing with the problem also include media powerhouse Oprah Winfrey.
The issue is a relatively new phenomenon. As navigation systems, mobile phones and other mobile electronics have become ubiquitous in cars and trucks, safety advocates and the government have pushed for restrictions.
As regulations and technology work to to solve the issues a software package from Phone Beagle is available to help deal with monitoring phone use. Their software installs on Android and BlackBerry mobile phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log activity.
