Introduction

It's hard to miss the news that appears all too frequently on the television and in newspapers about a significant crash that resulted from distracted driving. State and federal legislators are continually looking at this issue, and as of March 2011, 30 states have enacted a ban on texting while driving. Eight states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws prohibiting the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Additionally, on May 18, 2010, the United Nations put out a "Global Call to Action on Ending Distracted Driving." The United States Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, has also been very outspoken on this issue and held a distracted driving summit in September 2010. Clearly, the problem is receiving major attention across the country and throughout the world.

What is meant by the terms "distracted driving"? The National Safety Council has one of the best definitions: Any visual, cognitive or manual distraction that takes a driver's attention away from the primary task of safely operating a motor vehicle. While cell phone use, including handheld use, texting and use of Bluetooth® technology, get all the headlines, in reality distracted driving is a much more far-reaching issue. Some other examples of distractions while driving include:

  • Eating and drinking

  • Grooming

  • Paying attention to passengers, children, pets, etc.

  • Use of other technology (GPS devices, computers, radio, etc.)

  • Smoking

  • Reading

In essence, anything that takes the focus off the main task of driving safely can be construed as distracted driving. Several studies have shown that up to 80 percent of automobile crashes are the result of distracted driving. One of the most comprehensive studies, which was done by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, shows how much more likely a person is to be in an accident as a result of cell phone-related distractions such as dialing, talking, reaching for the phone, and texting while driving. The study indicated that drivers who are texting are 23 times more likely than nondistracted drivers to be involved in an accident.

Keywords:
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Subjects:
Safety
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2011. American Society of Safety Engineers
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