Jan
18
On today’s The Oprah Winfrey Show (January 15, 2010) The show covered the topic of distracted driving. “It is my prayer that this show, this day will be a seminal day in your life,” Oprah says. “Let it be the end, the end of you using a cell phone or sending a text message when you are behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. And until we as a nation decide we’re going to change that, those numbers are only going to go up.”
Millions of people text, talk or e-mail on their cell phones while driving—a recent survey finds that 71 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 49 admit they text or talk on the phone while they drive.
If you think you can call, text and drive at the same time, you cannot. That message you can’t wait to send could kill. Distracted driving is an epidemic that is sweeping through our country, claiming lives and destroying families.
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Sep
03
Starting September 12th, drivers in the state of Maine who don’t pay attention behind the wheel could be paying fines in court. A new distracted driver law, aimed at decreasing accidents and increasing safety on Maine’s roadways, goes into effect and State Police promise they will be watching the roads for drivers who are not paying enough attention.
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Penalties for a first offense will be more than $50 with a second offense being more than $250. Police are quick to state that they will not be looking for people talking on phones or eating, but will be watching for people who are doing those things and driving poorly, become involved in a crash or breaking other motor vehicle laws.
Read the full article here.
Aug
17
First it was drinking. Then it was cell phones. Now text-messaging is the latest behind-the-wheel activity lawmakers are trying to curb.
“All of my friends do it,” says Sonalie Patel, 17, who lives in Elk Grove Village, Ill., and admits that she too occasionally sends texts despite a ban on cell phone use for drivers under 19 and adults with learners permits. “It’s like an epidemic.”
Indeed, a Nationwide Insurance survey found that 18% of cell phone owners text and drive and that drivers between the ages of 16 and 30 are the most frequent texters. Young adults have even posted videos of themselves texting while driving on YouTube, and nearly 600 people have joined a Facebook group called “I Text Message People While Driving And I Haven’t Crashed Yet!”
Read the full article here.
Aug
12
The number of accidents in South Dakota that authorities blame on drivers who are distracted by cell phone use has jumped 60 percent in the four years since the Department of Highway Safety began collecting such data.
In 2004, the number of accidents tied to cell phone use was 82. By 2008, it had reached 138.
But those numbers don’t tell the whole story, officials say. For an officer responding to an accident to identify cell phone use as a contributing factor, the driver who used the phone usually must report it, Sioux Falls Police Chief Doug Barthel said.
Read the full article here.
