US may ban driver mobile phone use
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18th July, 2011
American congress representative Carolyn
McCarthy (Democrat - based in Garden City (Long Island) NY), a former nurse, has announced new
federal legislation that would provide a single national standard prohibiting the use of handheld
mobile devices while driving.
“Driving while making a phone call, texting or using apps can be as dangerous as driving
drunk, and much more common,” McCarthy said. “With some basic commonsense rules that are
already in place in some parts of the country, we can reduce injuries and save lives in
America.”
The Safe Drivers Act of 2011 focuses on two primary efforts. First, it directs the Secretary
of Transportation (DOT) to establish minimum regulations that ban the use of hand-held mobile
devices on a public road while operating a moving or idling motor vehicle, except in the case
of an emergency. There are exclusions, including voice-operated, vehicle-integrated devices, as
well as voice-operated GPS systems.
The bill also requires the DOT to conduct a study on distracted driving, focusing
particularly on the issue of cognitive distraction and the impact of distraction on young and
inexperienced drivers. In two years, the DOT must report the findings of this study to Congress
and provide recommendations for revising the minimum distracted driving prohibitions and
penalties states must comply with.
The penalty for not complying with the DOT’s minimum standards within two years of enactment
would be a withholding of 25 per cent of a state’s federal highway transportation funding.
The legislation is modelled after the nation’s federal Blood Alcohol Content standard (BAC),
the violation of which also results in a withholding of federal transportation funds (though no
state has been in violation of the federal BAC standard). States that are penalised can
actually receive their funds as soon as they are in compliance with federal law.
With a potpourri of laws in different states, including some states with no laws whatsoever
limiting mobile telephone use while driving, distracted driving is rapidly becoming a deadly
problem across the USA, just as it is elsewhere (including Australia).
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,474 people died as a
result of driver distraction in 2009, making up about 16 per cent of all fatalities as a result
of vehicle crashes that year.
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According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, using a mobile phone makes a driver
four times more likely to be in an accident that causes injury.
Right now, 13 states have no laws addressing handheld voice calls. They are Alaska, Florida,
Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Ten states have no laws addressing texting while driving. They are Arizona, Florida, Hawaii,
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota.
Eight states have no laws whatsoever limiting the use of mobile phones while driving,
whether for voice calls or texting. They are Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota.
Only 8 states prohibit all drivers – including novice drivers, bus drivers and 'regular'
adults – from using handheld cell phones while driving. They are California, Connecticut,
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, immediately after New York state
banned mobile telephone use while driving in 2001, mobile phone use declined an estimated 47
per cent. Since then, handheld cell phone use by New York Drivers is down an estimated 24 per
cent.
Kelly Cline, a Buffalo (New York) mother who lost her 20-year-old son A.J. Larson in a
texting-while-driving accident in 2007 and co-founded the 1,000-member Families Against Texting
While Driving organisation, gave the Safe Drivers Act of 2011 a very personal endorsement.
“I know all too well the tragic outcome that distracted driving can lead to in a split
second,” Ms. Cline said. “No one should lose their life because of an easily avoidable
problem that society hasn’t made a serious issue of. I hope that what happened to my family
serves as a wake-up call to our legislators, and I thank Congresswoman McCarthy for her
leadership. Hopefully we can raise awareness about distracted driving and stop another tragedy
from happening.”
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