Distracted Driving Summit Sets Stage for Reform

Conducting cell phone business while driving is destined to go the same way as driving without a seat belt and getting behind the wheel after a few drinks. There's a lot of talking still to be done, details worked out,

laws passed, rules enforced and public service messages delivered, but the clear import of the Department of Transportation's Distracted Driving Summit yesterday is that motorists are going to have to change their habits.

"Distracted driving is an epidemic," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in keynote remarks to the gathering of some 300 transportation officials, scientists, industry representatives, legislators and families of people killed or injured by distracted drivers.

LaHood said new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data show that in 2008 nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. On any given day, he said, more than 800,000 drivers use a hand-held cell phone.

"Every single time someone takes their eyes or their focus off the road - even for a few seconds - they put their lives and the lives of others in danger," he said. "Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible and in a split second, its consequences can be devastating."

The summit, which continues today, has brought together key stakeholders in the issue to lay out the research on distracted driving, define the problem and discuss solutions. Among the many issues that complicate the situation are differences of opinion on the quality and usefulness of research data, the difficulty of enforcing laws targeting distracted driving, and the varied laws and enforcement schemes that states have adopted in the absence of a national standard.

That last point may be addressed by a bill offered this summer by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the Avoid Life Endangering by Reckless Texting (ALERT) Act. This bill would cut federal highway funds to states that do not prohibit writing, sending, or reading text messages while driving. Schumer, and one of the co-sponsors of the bill, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., were on hand yesterday seeking support for their approach.

LaHood promised that this afternoon he will announce concrete steps DOT plans to take to address the problem. Look for more coverage tomorrow on Truckinginfo.com.

For more on the Distracted Driving Summit, go to www.rita.dot.gov/distracted_driving_summit