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Posts Tagged ‘DISTRACTED’
A House of Delegates committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on legislation that would prohibit a driver from reading a text message or e-mail while driving. The measure went before lawmakers last year, but differences between the House and Senate were not worked out, and the bill failed to pass.
Get the latest at the Washington Post:
via Post Now – More texting while driving rules in Md.?.
(Don’t forget things like:
1. Putting make up on while driving.
2. Shaving while driving.
3. Reading maps while driving.
4. Reading your printed directions while driving.
5. Observing your GPS while driving
6. Smoking while driving.
7. Drinking your soda while driving.
6. Eating food while driving.
Doing anything BUT driving.
Do we already have a distracted driving law? Why isn’t being deliberately distracted from driving already in the Maryland Code?)
The report concludes that Officer Thomas Portz Jr., 32, was most likely distracted by a film crew using the opposite lanes of U.S. 40 to record the final scene of an independent movie. The report, obtained under a Public Information Act request, says the officer was speeding at 71 mph (in a 50 mph zone) and was not wearing his seat belt.
Sphere: Related Content•20 percent of all accidents were the result of motorists paying attention to something other than driving.
•6,000 people were killed in crashes caused by distracted motorists.
•Drivers who text, eat or groom while driving are four times more likely to crash than those who concentrate on the road.
Sphere: Related ContentGovernment data show that every year over 4 000 teens lose their lives in collisions that are caused mostly by “distracted drivng” – a term that includes everything from having too many noisy passengers to using a cell phone while driving.
Read the ENTIRE story at VOANEWS.COM:
via Distracted Driving Killing More American Teens | USA | English.
(Sure would be nice if Maryland had distracted driving laws with teeth.)
“We need to develop a traffic safety culture that does not condone driving while distracted ” said Vernon Betkey director of Maryland s highway safety office.
via Highway officials fight rise in ‘distracted driving’ accidents | Washington Examiner.
(Yes, and we must also deal with the culture of recklessness on our highways as well. Too many dead and too many injured.)
Legislators in California are considering a bill that would study whether to put electronic license plates — and thus a revenue generating opportunity — on the cars of drivers in that state.
Read the ENTIRE bizarre story at the Baltimore Sun:
(This is just too weird. The OBVIOUS problems with this dumb idea is the impact it would have on law enforcement and it WOULD contribute to the distracted driver problem. Why should the government benefit from ad revenue earned by your license plates? It is unbelievable the extent to which some legislators will go to take away more of our hard earned cash.)
Distracted driving kills an estimated 6 000 Americans a year says Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. Secretary LaHood says “So we re on a rampage about it.” LaHood today blasted those opposed to banning drivers using the gadgets. Secretary LaHood says “I was stunned that anybody would organize an activity against safe driving.”
Read the ENTIRE STORY:
(Makes you wonder why the Maryland legislature didn’t take distracted driving more seriously.)
WASHINGTON, July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — AAA applauds Delaware on becoming the 30th state to outlaw text messaging by all drivers. Governor Jack Markell signed the bill into law today, making Delaware the 11th state in 2010 to ban text messaging while driving. Last September, AAA launched its campaign to pass texting bans in all 50 states.
“By passing a law banning texting while driving, Delaware continues the momentum in statehouses across the country in outlawing this dangerous form of driver distraction,” said Robert L. Darbelnet, AAA president and CEO. “In the last two years alone, almost half of all states – 12 in 2009 and 11 this year – have enacted text messaging bans for all drivers. AAA is encouraged by the recent and rapid progress toward our campaign goal of passing texting bans in all 50 states.
“Too many people are being injured and killed in vehicle crashes that are preventable. AAA will continue to educate the public about the mental and physical distraction associated with text messaging while driving and continue to advocate for texting bans in states without such laws.”
Delaware’s new law also makes it illegal to talk on a handheld cell phone while driving. Delaware joins California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia in permitting drivers to talk on a cell phone only with a hands-free device.
“AAA Mid-Atlantic congratulates the Delaware Legislature and Governor Markell on the passage of this new law to combat distracted driving, and we commend their efforts to improve highway safety in the state of Delaware,” said Don Gagnon, AAA Mid-Atlantic president and CEO. “AAA Mid-Atlantic has long advocated for comprehensive distracted driving legislation and this is a major step forward in combating texting and other distracted driving in Delaware.”
Legislation to establish or improve an existing ban on text messaging while driving is currently being considered in the following states: California, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
The following states and the District of Columbia now prohibit text messaging by all drivers: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Delaware’s law will become effective January 3, 2011. Delaware joins Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming in enacting text messaging bans for all drivers in 2010. The effective dates for those new laws are as follows:
* Delaware – January 3, 2011
* Georgia – July 1, 2010
* Iowa – July 1, 2010; penalties effective July 1, 2011
* Kansas – Effective immediately when signed on May 24; warning citations to be issued until January 1, 2011
* Kentucky – Effective immediately when signed on April 15; penalties effective January 1, 2011
* Massachusetts – October 1, 2010
* Michigan – July 1, 2010
* Nebraska – July 15, 2010
* Vermont – Effective immediately when signed on June 1
* Wisconsin – December 1, 2010
* Wyoming – July 1, 2010
As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides nearly 52 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.
Sphere: Related ContentThe theory behind the program is that by mapping crashes, police can learn which areas are most likely to have problems and station officers in a “highly visible” way to deter speeding and distracted driving.
via U.S. road safety chief praises Balto. Co. tactics – baltimoresun.com.
(This really isn’t news per se. Agencies have been doing this since spreadsheets were invented in the late 80′s and early 90′s. I hope Baltimore didn’t wait until 2010? Seriously. Anecdotal evidence is enough to show which intersections are the most dangerous. Observations by poliuce produce the same results. What statistics do is establish probability based on past history using the computer. Common sense always worked prior to computers. One could say now that there should be better enforcement and more effective targeted patrols now that the PD has a computer.)
Car accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States.
via Distracted Driving Killing More American Teens | USA | English.
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