This document discusses the dangers of texting and driving, laws banning cell phone use while driving in various states, and strategies to curb distracted driving. It provides statistics on crashes related to distracted driving and examples of texting-while-driving accidents. It also describes a mobile app that disables texting/calling while driving and rewards safe driving behavior to encourage responsible cell phone use.
4. TEXT MESSAGING BAN Alaska Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Georgia Guam Illinois Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Oregon Rhode Island Tennessee Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Wisconsin Wyoming
5. USE OF HANDHELD CELL PHONES BAN California Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Maryland New York New Jersey Oregon Virgin Islands Washington
6. LAW: Primary Law allows an officer officer to ticket the driver for the offense related to cell phone use without any other traffic offense taking place. ACTION: Law prohibits all or certain types of drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving. LAW: Secondary Lawallows an officer to give the driver an additional ticket for cell phone use as secondary violation if pulled over for another primary offense. ACTION: Law bans text messaging for all or certain types of drivers. LAWS ON “CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING” VARIES IN EACH STATE.
7. VIRGINIA Ban on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for bus drivers (Primary law) Ban on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for novice drivers (Primary law) Ban on texting for all drivers (Secondary law; Primary law for bus drivers) Note: Virginia defines “novice drivers” as all drivers under the age of 18.
10. 2009 surveyof National Safety Council (NSC) member companies: 58%had a cell phone policy for employees Of those, 40%noted that they COMPLETELY BANNED cell phone use while driving, primarily for reasons of “Employee Safety” and “Public Safety” Although most policies are enforced through an honor system, -43% of companies conduct parking lot observations -40% use driver records and traffic citations -10% conduct in-vehicle monitoring.
13. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found: 35% of drivers surveyed felt less safe on the road today then they did five years ago. 31% of those cited distracted driving as the reason. Information on distracted driving is a REQUIRED component of Driver Education in 18 states and D.C.,andit is a question on the driver’s license test in 17 states and D.C. Motor vehicle crashes are THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH for teenagers in the United States. Teen drivers (between 16 and 19) are involved in fatal crashes at 4x the rate of adult drivers (25 to 69), per mile driven.
16. EVERY SECOND you look down to text while driving at 70MPH, you travel more than 100FT. That's the height of a 10 story building! Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions AS MUCH AS having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08% “Distracted Driving” was Webster Dictionary’s word of the year in 2009.
18. Pam Fischer of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety says officers already write 10,000 tickets every month for violators of New Jersey's texting and cell phone bans.
19. Texting while driving, girl runs into house, police say October 26, 2010 Crystal Lake, Illinois A 16-year-old has been charged after police said she drove her car into the attached garage of a house while texting and driving. There were no injuries in the crash. The girl was charged with: Failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision Improper use of an electronic communication device
20. SafeCell App Rewards You For Not Texting While Driving How It Works: SafeCell uses your phone's GPS function to alert you of applicable cell phone laws, which vary by state, and also notifies you when you're entering a school zone. When it detects that you're driving over 5mph, it will disable the texting and calling functions of your phone, per the laws of the state or jurisdiction you're driving in. For text messages, drivers can elect for the app to auto-respond to messages, saying, "The person you are trying to reach is driving and will receive your message upon reaching their destination." For every 500 miles safely driven, users receive a $5 credit, redeemable at over 500 retail outlets. Rewards are capped at $250 per year. The app can also track driving patterns, creating a driving log for concerned parents or employers whose children or employees use it.
23. RESOURCES GeekSugar.com Department of Transportation Creator’s Syndicate CTIA The Wireless Association Distraction.gov University of Utah NWHerald.com
