Engineering alone will not end the distracted driving epidemic

From day one, safety has been my top priority at the Department of Transportation, which is why I am so committed to ending the deadly – and entirely preventable – epidemic of distracted driving.

To succeed, we need a combination of good laws, effective enforcement, education, and awareness, and we need everyone to take personal responsibility for driving safely.

DOT is working very hard to promote these elements of our national anti-distracted driving effort, and we think we’re beginning to see a change. In just the last year, public awareness has grown, 12 more states have passed distraction laws, and we’ve recorded major drops in distracted driving in Hartford, CT and Syracuse, NY where we are testing enforcement programs.

Secretary LaHood at the Distracted Driving Summit. 

But some – or at least one – have questioned whether these gains are important and whether our efforts are actually making a difference. And their position flies in the face of common sense, crash fatality statistics, and academic research.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety claims state distracted driving laws are pointless because, in the absence of cell-phone use and texting, drivers will find other distractions. I hope readers can see why that line of reasoning is ridiculous. By that logic, we should throw all our safety laws out the window.

Rather than throwing our hands up in the air, we’re going to tackle the problem head on. And we know we can change behavior through good education and enforcement. That combination was effective in curbing drunk driving, and it was effective in encouraging seatbelt use. The success of these two safety campaigns provide us with a strong model for putting an end to distracted driving.

Indeed, we learned at our recent Distracted Driving Summit that enforcement of anti-distraction laws can be extraordinarily effective. Captain Shannon Trice of the Syracuse Police Department indicated that his department's pilot high-visibility enforcement program reduced cell phone use by 38% and texting behind the wheel by 42%. And Hartford's numbers--56% decline in cell use and 68% decline in texting--are even better.

And, if we can get more states to adopt these high-visibility enforcement techniques--the same way police departments across America have used drunk driving enforcement efforts to increase compliance--we will see anti-distraction laws become more effective.

Yet the IIHS would rather we apply our resources only to develop better crash avoidance technology for vehicles to compensate for inattentive driving. Now, I'm all for developing collision warning systems and crash-avoidance technology, but that can only do so much  Right now, at 70 miles per hour, a computer chip cannot safely stop a 2,000 pound vehicle whose driver does not see the line of nine cars stopped 50 feet ahead.

Distracted driving is a dangerous problem that we cannot ignore, and as long as I am the Secretary of Transportation, I’m going to make the safety of our highways, rails, and skies my first priority.

Comments

[Observer]

How about urging law enforcement agencies to apply reckless driving laws to texting drivers versus a specific law against texting while driving? That way states, as well as the federal government, can focus on education campaigns instead of passing yet more laws.

[Robert Mitovski]

Safe Drive Enforcer an App in the Android Market deters distracted driving with the cell phones. The data all says distracted driving has always happened true but not until texting had it become an epidemic. Texting an driving is akin to driving while impaired.

Please don't text and drive. Save a friend, Save a life, Save a loved one. Get Safe Drive Enforcer from the Android Market and make a commitment, no a pledge to stop distracted driving.

Thank you,

Rob

[Dianne Gilbertson]

American drivers need to return to taking personal responsibility for the safety of everyone within reach of their speeding bullet. I applaud Sec. LaHood for moving this important issue to the headlines. I hope stopping other forms of reckless driving will also become part of efforts to make roadways safe.

[JIM PARSLEY]

THE GPS IN MY SUV WON'T LET ME TYPE ON IT WHILE I'M MOVING I BET IT WOULD BE EASY TO DO THE SAME WITH CELL PHONES.

[Teena G.]

In general, I agree with the sentiments here, with one caveat: I'm a cognitive scientist working side-by-side with engineers daily on driver multitasking and distraction concerns... Our goal is to understand distraction at the cognitive level (as so many others are also attempting to do), in order to mitigate the impact as much as possible. There are some drivers who cannot entirely avoid multitasking (e.g., first responders, law enforcement, etc). This is a much more complicated approach than attempts to remove distraction entirely, but in order to reach our goals, I believe it is necessary.

We need a systematic multi-modal approach here; on that, I think we all agree, and DOT has certainly been a leader in championing that. My only concern is that we not limit our engineering efforts to the 'reactive' or automated level and remember that engineering can be 'proactive' as well.

[matt]

While I appreciate your stated commitment to safety, The IIHS' position completely makes sense to me. Mobile devices like phones are obviously not the root of the problem. Lack of respect for the amount of energy in a driver's hands is the problem. Drivers are on their phones at inappropriate times because they don't know that it's an inappropriate time. Taking away one avenue for distraction will not prevent them from choosing another as a replacement. There will always be some level of distraction. It is nearly impossible for a person to put 100% of his mental function onto a single task. What is really needed is for all the drivers on the road to have an appropriate understanding of and respect for the seriousness of the task at hand. If this is accomplished, then drivers can effectively manage their level of distraction as the traffic and driving situation allows. Unfortunately for the NHTSA, this task lies on the DOT. Drivers need to be trained better, and those that can't learn to consistently drive safely should be denied licenses.

[rick]

you do not need to be a rocket sceintest to see that texting and cell phones are a dangerous distractions what about head phones loud radios these people drive up the highway like they are the only ones on the road they cant even hear the cops tyring to pull them over there attention is not on the road behind them or around them they are dangerous to all around them you need more cops on the road not more rules they all ready now the laws they dont care

[Mouhamad A. Naboulsi]

I must agree that building vehicles to withstand crashes is an after the fact solution and not the smart way to go. But Technology can play a good and important role when it pre-empts the causes of distraction.

Pre-empting causes of distraction while not intruding onto the natural development of the American life style that now "Dictates" that we stay connnected is the right solution. This does not mean that everyone and anyone should be "Connecting" for any reason and when ever they please, but it means that such "connecting" must be done only when it does not cause accidents and technology can help achive that.

While technology can get things done, unless enforcement and awarteness are playing a lead role, the drivers will not use such technology, just like some driver choose not to wear seatbelts even when they are already available.

The multi

[Michael E. Bailey]

I think anything we can do to reduce accidents and highway deaths is important and ending distracted driving by cell phone and texting is very important. Significant inroads have been made against this problem. And I know people who before the new emphasis on not using cell phones while driving, used to not take our state law too seriously, now don't use the phone any longer while driving. They read their messages and make their calls either when they are out of the car or before they start the car. So public education on this problem is having a positive effect and making safer drivers. The first Distracted Driving Summet laid a good foundation, now with the second Summet, we can begin the process of building on to the foundation. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.