Technology can and will make driving safer and drivers should follow distracted driving laws.
Distracted driving has become a growing problem in recent years with the proliferation in mobile technology.
FORBES: NTSB To Drivers: 'Stop Texting And Get Off The Phone'
In 2009, distracted driving was linked to more than 5, 400 deaths and about 448, 000 injuries.
" Another NTSB board member said the proposal's target -- distracted driving -- is "the new DUI.
CNN: Call for car-phone ban likely to meet busy signal in states
The group is sponsoring a distracted driving webinar for business owners on April 25, on the subject.
FORBES: Business Owners Beware: Distracted Driving Can Cost You, Too
Their success is reflected in the rate of accidents caused by distracted driving.
The National Safety Council is promoting April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
FORBES: Business Owners Beware: Distracted Driving Can Cost You, Too
In 2010, nearly 3, 100 people were killed in distracted driving crashes according to NHTSA. Currently 35 states ban texting while driving.
FORBES: NTSB To Drivers: 'Stop Texting And Get Off The Phone'
Distracted driving cited by 3 out of 10 of these drivers was the single most common reason given for feeling less safe today.
But it exposes an important question for frequent travellers: where do you draw the line when it comes to distracted driving?
Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood kicked off the Distracted Driving Summit.
Distracted driving (see this Glee PSA on texting and driving featuring Dianna Agron playing Quinn Fabray) and social media liability are increasing concerns.
Every year, accidents involving drunk, drugged, or distracted driving claim thousands of lives, leaving families to face the heartbreak of losing a loved one.
As soon as the apps detect the connection to the car the screen is disabled, ensuring that this one vector for distracted driving is eliminated.
More, it could preclude the introduction of new useful technologies which detect distracted driving and give off an alarm (based on car performance or eye movements).
According to NHTSA, distracted driving claimed the lives of more than 3, 000 people in 2010, or 9.4% of all fatalities that year, with another 416, 000 others injured.
Secretary LaHood challenged over 250 safety experts, industry representatives, elected officials, members of the public, and even mommy bloggers to help put an end to distracted driving.
Ray LaHood recently decided against holding a third-annual Distracted Driving Summit this year and signaled he won't challenge auto makers that are integrating cellphones into their dashboard marvels.
Distracted driving has been in the news a lot lately.
FORBES: Business Owners Beware: Distracted Driving Can Cost You, Too
Without having to worry about distracted driving, electronics companies and app makers could outfit cars with all the distracting entertainment they wished and earn billions off the now-free time in self-driving cars.
FORBES: Google's Trillion-Dollar Driverless Car -- Part 2: The Ripple Effects
While distracted driving has been a major thrust of research in recent years, there has been relatively little examination of the effect that talking on a cell phone has on walking, Neider says.
Recent news was that The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in an effort to reduce distracted driving is urging all 50 states to require that products not essential to driving be unusable by drivers.
The driver claimed to be using the phone for mapping purposes and argued that the state's distracted driving laws shouldn't have applied (he says he was looking at a map on the phone while holding it in his hand).
CNN: Judge rules using smartphone maps while driving illegal
"With this many new drivers engaging in distracted driving behaviors, it's clear we have to continue to educate on the serious consequences that activity can have, " Angela Patterson of Bridgestone America said in a statement released with Monday's results.
Of course, as in any such analysis the numbers can be skewed because of the reluctance of some people to report or to underestimate distracted-driving behavior, especially to law enforcement officials investigating a crash.
FORBES: Forget Phones Or Fast Food, More Drivers Cause Their Own Distractions In Crashes
The overwhelming majority of teen girls who responded to the study said that changing music on car stereos and playing loud music while driving distracted them.
The purpose of driving is to keep our full attention to the road and arrive safely from point A to point B, not to be dazzled and distracted by gadgets that do not truly serve a useful purpose for driving a vehicle.
The NTSB does not have the power to actually impose a ban on driver use of mobile phones, but the unanimous recommendation could sway the states to toughen current distracted driver laws, which in many states bar the use of hand-held devices while driving, but which do not go so far as to ban the use of phones on a hands-free basis.
It is legal to use hands-free phones, sat-navs and two-way radios while driving or riding but the police have the power to stop and penalise users they think are distracted and not in control of the vehicle.
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