Oct 1, 2009 3:50 pm US/Eastern
Feds Seek Texting Ban For Truckers, Bus Drivers
515,000 Injured, Nearly 6,000 Killed In 2008 From Driving While Distracted
WASHINGTON (CBS) ―
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The Obama administration said Thursday it will seek to ban text messaging by interstate bus drivers and truckers and push states to pass their own laws against driving cars while distracted.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the administration also would move to put restrictions on cell phone use by rail operators, truck drivers and interstate bus drivers.
"Driving while distracted should just feel wrong -- just as driving without a seat belt or driving while intoxicated," LaHood said at the end of a two-day conference on the problem. "We're not going to break everyone of their bad habits -- but we are going to raise awareness and sharpen the consequences."
As a first step, LaHood said President Barack Obama signed an executive order late Wednesday banning all federal workers from texting while driving on government business, driving government vehicles or using government equipment.
The administration also will push to disqualify school bus drivers who are convicted of texting while driving from keeping their commercial driver's licenses.
Researchers, safety groups, automakers and lawmakers gathered to discuss the perils of distracted driving, hearing sobering data from the government that underscored the safety threat as more motorists stay connected with cell phones and mobile devices.
The Transportation Department reported that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured last year in crashes connected to driver distraction, often involving mobile devices or cell phones. Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008 and was more prevalent among young drivers.
Senate Democrats said support was building in Congress to move against text messaging by drivers. The legislation, pushed by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would require states to ban texting or e-mailing while operating a moving vehicle or lose 25 percent of their annual federal highway funding.
"We've introduced legislation that would nationally ban texting while driving, and tell every state unless they pass the ban, they're going to lose some of their federal highway funds," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "It's based on the anti-drunk driving laws which have been hugely successful."
Added Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.): "It's like driving with your eyes closed."
LaHood declined to endorse Schumer's bill, saying simply that the administration would work with Congress. Many states have questioned the use of so-called "sanctions" against states that do not pass laws sought by Congress, especially during tough economic times.
"The words 'federal mandate' and 'federal sanctions' do not play well," said Bruce Starr, an Oregon state senator who attended the conference.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia already have passed laws making texting while driving illegal, and seven states and the District have banned driving while talking on a handheld cell phone, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Many safety groups have urged a nationwide ban on using any handheld mobile devices while behind the wheel.
The conference attracted families of victims of accidents caused by distracted driving, who urged the government to take a strong stance against cell phone use in vehicles, whether it includes a handsfree device or not. They said technologies that prevent the mobile device from receiving e-mails or phone calls while the vehicle is in motion could help address the problem.
Some researchers cautioned that banning all cell phone use by drivers would undermine the development of in-vehicle safety technologies that could allow vehicles to share traffic information with other vehicles and alert emergency responders to crashes.
Industry officials said a broad public awareness campaign was needed to overcome people's penchant to stay connected with the office and loved ones at all times. Tech-savvy young drivers, many with only a few years of experience on the road, are particularly apt to use the devices behind the wheel.
"Everyone our age thinks we're invincible," said Nicole Meredith, 18, of Louisville, Ky., who totaled her car because she was texting while driving.
Overall, text messages have exploded from 10 billion in 2005 to 110 billion in 2008.
The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute did a study this summer on the dangers of texting or using a cell phone while driving. They found that you are six times more likely to be involved in an accident if you do so. The study found it's even worse when it's a truck driver using a mobile device. They're 23 times more likely to crash if talking on a cell or texting. Many of the crashes that involve large trucks were caused by the driver being distracted.
As you might expect, young people are most likely to text while driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Administration, 16 percent of drivers under the age of 20 who were involved in a fatal crash were texting at the time.
According to a CBS News/New York Times poll released Sunday, a whopping 90 percent of Americans think punching out text messages while behind the wheel should be outlawed, compared with just 8 percent who think it's okay.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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