Congratulations, Massachusetts, for taking action to save lives and stop distracted driving

I want to congratulate Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, MassDOT Secretary Jeffrey Mullan, and all the safety advocates who have worked hard to get Massachusetts' new anti-texting while driving law on the books. Thanks to your efforts, starting tomorrow Massachusetts roads will be safer for everyone.

This new law empowers state police to take action when they see dangerous distracted driving behavior on Massachusetts roads. And we know that good laws--like the one taking effect tomorrow in the Bay State--coupled with good enforcement can help reduce distracted driving behaviors.

We know this from our experience reducing drunk driving. We know this from our experience increasing seat belt use. And most importantly, we know this from our experience in Hartford and Syracuse, where our pilot distracted driving enforcement campaigns are making a significant difference.

I want to thank Massachusetts' leaders for taking action against the deadly epidemic of distracted driving. And I look forward to the safer travels this law will lead to on Bay State roads.

Comments

[William Day]

Outlawing cell phones while driving is another case of the entire country having to pay pennants for the wrong doing of just a few people.A few "bad apples" ruin it for the whole bunch.It has unfoutanatly become part of the american way to punish innocent people!

[Michael E. Bailey]

The more states participate in the effort to control cellphone talking and texting the safer the roads will be. This is more great news. . Lets us hope some other states that are not on board yet sign on in 2011. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[Kevin]

Distracted driving is such a recogized risk that I'm surprised that there are any States that have neglected to introduce laws against cell phone use while driving. California allows cell phone calls while driving provided the driver uses a hands-free device. My feeling is that any cell phone use is a distraction.

[John]

Distracted driving due to cell phone use could be easily solved, with no required enforcement by police organizations, by using capabilities already included in all cell phones.

All cell phones contain GPS chips and it would a relatively simple matter to determine if the cell phone was moving by doing sequential reads of location data. Velocity could be determined by a simple calculation dividing the distance moved by the time between reads. If the velocity exceeded some maximum, say 10 mph, the phone could be disabled for transmission and reception except for emergency numbers such as 911. I'm sure that this would be fairly simple for the cell phone manufacturers to implement.

Lets face it, cell phone users are not going to voluntarily discontinue use of their phones while driving, be it for voice or text, and there aren't enough police officers to make the prospect of getting caught a high probability. And, most people assume it's the other person who has a problem with distracted driving, not them. The only way we are ever going to eliminate this risk is by ensuring that the phones will not operate, except in emergencies, while we are driving.

Just a suggestion.

[My Auto Insurance Went Way Up!]

I caused an accident while texting and driving. Lesson learned. I injured another driver and my auto insurance costs went through the roof. I am paying the price. Don't be stupid like me.

Logan

[Vannessa]

I must also add that besides those yellow buses, we must also outline that 300,000 high school students went back to school in California alone and out of those, 42% drive to school. Driving teenagers with cool cellphones creates a HUGE hazard. We must instruct our teenagers to drive safetly and perhaps send them to defensive driving schools to make sure they stay safe while behind-the-wheel and also protect pedestrians around them

Vannesa
Manager at Vista Driving School in Los Angeles
www.canogaparkdrivingschool.com
818.710.6165

[Cabin Rentals]

Driving whiling texting may be even worse than driving while drunk. Drunk drivers are impaired - texting drivers don't have their eyes on the road at all. Not only that, most of the drivers doing the texting are young, inexperienced teenager drivers - that's a dangerous combination.

[Derek Schmidt]

in response to http://fastlane.dot.gov/2010/09/congratulations-massachusetts-for-taking-action-to-save-lives-and-stop-distracted-driving.html?cid=6a00e551eea4f58834013487e0647a970c#comment-6a00e551eea4f58834013487e0647a970c by John:

This would disable phone usage for passengers of the same vehicle, and what about transit commuters or simply passengers on a train? Another example of a bad implementation with a view to a greater ideal.