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December 13, 2011 By Matt Williams
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called Tuesday, Dec. 13, for a nationwide ban on nearly all use of personal electronic devices — including cellphones and smartphones — by drivers.
The board’s recommendation came in a review of a highway accident that occurred last year in Gray Summit, Mo., that killed two people and injured 38 others. A review determined the accident likely was caused by a distracted driver who sent several text messages in the moments before the pileup.
The NTSB’s recommended that all 50 states and the District of Columbia ban drivers’ “nonemergency use of portable electronic devices” except for uses that support the task of driving, such as GPS navigation. The board is also calling for the ban of drivers’ use of hands-free calling technology.
The NTSB also urged CTIA — The Wireless Association and the Consumer Electronics Association to “encourage the development of technology features that disable the functions of portable electronic devices within reach of the driver when a vehicle is in motion; these technology features should include the ability to permit emergency use of the device while the vehicle is in motion and have the capability of identifying occupant seating position so as not to interfere with use of the device by passengers.”
The board also wants states to heighten enforcement of existing laws that prohibit technology that contributes to distracted driving and to enact public awareness campaigns about the issue.
“According to [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration], more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents", said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman in a statement Tuesday. "It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving."
A press release announcing NTSB’s recommendations cited a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study of commercial drivers that found “a safety-critical event is 163 times more likely if a driver is texting, emailing or accessing the Internet.”
According to the nonprofit Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) website, nine states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have laws on the books that prohibit all drivers from using handhelds. Thirty states and D.C. ban all cellphone use by “novice” drivers, which typically includes an age limit; 41 states ban novice drivers from texting. No state currently bans both handheld and hands-free use of personal electronic devices, according to the association.
A report on distracted driving released this year by the GHSA found there is no conclusive evidence that drivers’ use of hands-free technology is less risky than handheld devices. About one-third of drivers routinely use a cellphone while driving, the report said. One driver was reported to have been distracted in 15 to 30 percent of crashes, although the report said that proportion could in reality be even higher.
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http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Feds-Call-for-Nationwide-Ban-on-Texts-Phones-While-Driving.html
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I am fully opposed to any law banning cell phones while driving. First of all, they are no more dangerous than talking to a passenger. Second, far more dangerous things like using the radio, changing CDs, smoking, and eating are legal. Third, a cell phone is so much more than a phone. It's a GPS device, it's a radio, it's a compass, and so on. POLL: Should talking on a cell phone while driving be illegal? Vote: http://www.wepolls.com/p/6408758
Just what we need…more nanny state intervention..NOT! Ban texting? Sure. Phone use - limit it to hands free. We have the technology to determine if the driver(s) were using their phones seconds before impact. Maximum fines followed by loss of license for negligent driving while on the phone. Make it HURT! If the claim is that ALL phone conversations should be traffic violations, what about a driver that sees an emergency? Just drive on? Don’t call 911, you’ll get a $500 ticket? Do we ban playing the radio? It’s a distraction. Talking to passengers? Distraction. See how stupid one size fits all really is?
Zadoc: cell phone conversation is not the same as in-car in-person conversation. Cell phone conversation and operation requires a different level of attention than talking to someone present in the car. Texting and Web-surfing are clearly far more dangerous than talking to someone in the car. All those other uses of the cell phone only present more distractions. For the sake of everyone else on the road, shut up, hang up, and drive. Truth: if it's really an emergency, pull over and make the call. I don't see any evidence that the instances above were emergencies. They were people being irresponsible to the point of threatening other lives. Outlawing such irresponsible and deadly behavior is not nanny-statism; it's what civilized society does to hold individuals accountable for harmful behavior.
I am calling for an immediate ban on all driver's liscenses! Did you know that almost 90% of all drivers who are involved in accidents were liscensed to drive by a state government? Clearly, the possession of a driver's liscense is a key risk factor for driving accidents. How long will government continue to finance their DMVs on the backs of drivers who pay for liscenses when clearly such behavior increases the risk of driving accidents?
I paid extra to have bluetooth in my car so I could talk hands free. You want to ban something, ban women from putting on their makeup while driving.
Or men...
I'm with Dave! We can't continue to let our citizen's drive with a license - it's insane! And so are most of these Federal agencies, boards and commisions.
There are limits to outlawing death and accidents, what results is criminal trials, attorneys, people in jail for acts that lack criminal intent, texting while driving is stupid, calls? some people shouldn't breath while driving, it distracts them, others handle it fine, hands free should be the permitted standard. Open road is not the same as areas like city with many intersections,etc.
Hands free should be allowed, all other use banned. I agree that hands-free is no more distracting than eating, smoking, putting on makeup, talking to a passenger, etc. There was a time when they thought about banning radio in cars, but that never caught on.
I totally approve of this. If cell phone calls and text messages are so darn important, than move out of traffic, place the vehicle in park, and devote your full attention to the "urgent"matter. The sooner this ban takes place, and/or steep fines or penalties are imposed, the sooner people can get back to driving like they have a destination in mind and they're not the only person on the road. Ever see a motorcyclist texting? No? I wonder why?
wow that is crazy so what they going to do
I see a long hard road ahead for anyone trying to make this into law. Then again maybe that is what people said before seat belt laws. In the third paragraph they make provisions for emergency use, GPS, and driving based applications. Granted there are some things that are bad ideas while driving. Is it a case of causation without correlation? It could just be irresponsible people where even if they did not have a cell phone they would have been doing something else irresponsible and would have crashed anyway. I don't even see how they could effectively workout paragraph four. Especially since it is legal to hack your own phone. It is also interesting to note that accident and fatality rates have not sky rocketed over the past few years. In fact it looks like they have slightly decreased. Below are a few links from where I got my information. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2006956,00.html http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/transportation/motor_vehicle_accidents_and_fatalities.html http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx
Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. It should be "correlation with out causation?".
check how dangerous pulling in and out of traffic is on busy streets and high speed interstate highways, you'd be surprised.
Interesting responses. Anyone remember that airline flight that overshot its desination because the pilots were so engrossed in some new (scheduling?) app on a laptop? I wonder who would be up in arms had that flight nosedived into the ground? What kind of oversight/regulation would people be looking for in response to that incident? Try to view this issue from an objective perspective. Doing anything while driving other than driving is dangerous to everyone else in the vehicle and on the road (including bicyclists and pedestrians). Is someone's ego really that distorted to think that nothing will happen to them? or their passengers? or other drivers? Seriously, we got along all these years without cell phones and now a collective whine rises because we can't have our way?
There is never any shortage of people who wish to tell others what to do. Remember that we lose our rights as we surrender them, be it in the name of 'common good' or 'national security'. What we surrender we will never get back. I suggest we refer to the sentiment of this bumper sticker from the 1960's: 'Ban Low Performance Drivers, Not High Performance Cars'. The point being that we are not all the same, we do not all have innate driving skills. Some everyday people are incapable of doing any two things simultaneously. This doesn't make them better or worse, but it does lead one to realize that, perhaps our driving exams should be more in line with the sophisticated, electronically enhanced and very powerful automobiles we drive in THIS century. Very often, statistics merely sum up that which the statistician seeks to exhibit as fact.
KingGeorge, Have you seen the movie "Captain America"? There's a scene where the scientist says "A strong man has known power all his live and has no respect for it. The weak man respects power and has compassion." Powerful things, like automobiles, should be respected, especially when it is easy to inflict harm unnecessarily on others (while distracted). BTW - who wants their surgeon talking on a cell phone or texting while performing surgery on them? Can I please see a show of hands.
It may be a good idea for people not to text or talk in the car. The larger issue, here, imo, is that this is or should be beyond the purview of federal government. How much are we going to have to spend in tax dollars for legions of underworked and overpaid/benefitting government operatives to write new federal laws, negotiate with car companies lobbyists and then establish and execute enforcement protocols? The state local laws against talking with handheld phone are being flagrantly violated already, so how are these new federal mandates going to be enforced? Not. This is just going to cost us more money and create more government jobs and interest groups. Every time the fed decides on well-intentioned mandate like this an expensive new sub-agency is created that we pay for.
Accidents caused by distracted drivers are already criminal actions in most stated. What the distraction is/was is irrelevant. Why just pick on cell phones? Outlaw donuts, Big-Mac's, coffee, cigarettes, car stereos, mp3 players, etc. Heck, passengers (especially kids) can be a significant distraction, ban passengers while you're at it. Maybe create a special isolated compartment for the driver so he/she doesn't isn't distracted by incessant "are we there yet"'s. This is just a "feel good" law that does nothing except errode freedoms. It reminds me of "hate crime" laws. Murder is murder regardless of the motivation. It's no wonder congress has such a low approval rating, they have lived such privilaged and isolated lives that their kindergarten view of reality prevents them from coming up with rational solutions to REAL problems.
Hmm... If you think cell phones are not MORE dangerous than talking to a person in the car then you should probably keep to driving by yourself. I believe your ability to maintain focus on the road must be severely limited with any sort of distraction.
Actually, and very sadly, this does happen occasionally. I witnessed a man riding a motorcycle with no helmet or gear, texting while driving on a busy main street. Eventually he pulled over to take a phone call, I assume he only pulled over to limit wind noise during the call though. Clearly, it wasn't an act aimed at the safety of himself or others. I do think that limiting the extend of the law's restriction on phone use is appropriate. New technologies are being included in cars all the time to aid drivers and prevent these types of accidents. Many cars now will even park themselves for you. If we're going to look so deeply into the "distracted driver" issue, we must then also include things like shaving, make-up application, news paper reading, map reading, fussy children, un-restrained animals, and other distractions at the same time. This is ridiculous. Stick with "hands free" limitations and take drivers training more seriously. That is the real core of the issue.
[@ roy.stone - Because motorcycles require balance, your car require balance?] I agree with some comments, outlaw phone calls, then outlaw passengers because they tempt you to turn away from the road (unlike cell phones), at least when you're talking on the phone, your eyes are on the road. Outlawing hands free? Have these people ever used bluetooth or know what it is? Yeah, good luck running a business that requires much travel if they outlaw it. It's seriously silly, and most the supporters are people who apparently have very little value, or need, for communication. Think outside your box. See past generalities as well, "3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents" Let's have more accuracy on the numbers dealing with CELL PHONES; otherwise, don't put any up, it can be deceptive to those not bothering to read into it, which is probably the majority. Distraction-related... ooo pretty Christmas lights, bam, ooo pretty girl/guy, bam. yeah, I'm sure all were due to cell phones, another punish the 10s of millions for a few, how about just punish those few? And those few, serious accidents causing deaths... so hey, let's outlaw cars they're involved in 100% of car accidents, why draw the line at that? There has to be a point where we're not baby sat, where liberties aren't taken away, where the line's drawn... first seat belts, now phones, next thing banned, yeah, radios or smoking in their own vehicles (not a smoker, don't like smoke, but it's a choice people have and should impo)... people get in accidents all the time for so many reasons... next think you know, 5-point harnesses will be standard, why not? No, really, I think they're kinda cool :) jk
nicely put
Yeah, agreed, let's outlaw irresponsible drivers! You really do have a very valid point though.
I think the proposal should exempt the use of handsfree device. Tuning your radio is no different from using your handsfree device.
I see where you're going and can understand that enforcement on this will be difficult, at best. However, there is a something that is being overlooked - technology is a tool. If someone creates a problem due to their SLOP ("Simple Lack Of Planning"), why should other people suffer? I've been working in IT since the early 1980's and have just recently purchased a cell phone, which I've only turned on three times in the past month. I take the time and make the effort to know where I'm going before I leave the house, let alone get into my vehicle. Not only do I (almost always) know where I'm going, I have 3 or 4 mental maps of alternate routes. By and large, I think most people are letting technology do the thinking for them. As Einstein said, "We're all trained to spot the wrong answer. Genius spots the wrong question." The real question isn't about banning calls and texting. The real question is why so many people, when they operate a vehicle, think that they are "entitled" to make phone calls and/or text instead of paying attention to their driving. I'd love to hear the responses from those who've lost someone or who have injured or killed someone because of an "urgent" call or text.
My point is like many who say, it's not the gun, it's the person behind it. The problem is being entirely missed, the problem here is, as stated in comments before, the people who can't do more than one thing at once, or who are easily distracted. I've had a family member killed by a firearm, do I hate the tool or all who use them? NO, the actual matter is that single person, it would be like saying all firearm owners are murderers or, because their potential, they're a direct threat. This is no different, except these people likely didn't intend for a life to be taken by their carelessness. My employer requires me to use a cell phone daily in a vehicle and could not operate without it, is it better to use handsfree? yes. Have I taken a life? No, do I feel RESPONSIBLE for myself and my actions while on it driving? Yes. The few who don't, are the problem. This is an issue for specific shouldn't be handled by "blanketing" with a law. but the even bigger issue at hand that is masked, and ignored, questionably purposefully, "does the gov't have the right to limit this?"
... should the facts be considered on your lack of cell phone use? Your circumstances are far from the norm as it is, not to be personal, but to state something that directly affects your argument.