March 25, 2010
Texting while driving ban advances
BY JOSH HAFENBRACK
Sun-Sentinel
TALLAHASSEE — Drivers, put away those Black-Berrys and iPhones. A ban on texting while driving took a crucial step forward Wednesday in the Florida Legislature.
The Senate Transportation Committee unanimously approved a ban (SB 448) on reading or sending e-mails and text messages while behind the wheel. Texting would be a secondary offense, so drivers could only be cited if they’re pulled over for something else, such as speeding.
“I don’t like to legislate personal behavior and I have resisted these types of distracted driving bills over the years, but frankly I’ve gotten hit myself,” said Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice. “I think we’ve all seen the effects of texting while driving. They’re changing lanes and they’re a lot worse than drunk drivers.”
The ticket for a first texting- while-driving offense would be $30 plus court costs, which vary by county. On the second offense, the fine would double to $60 and the driver would get three points on his or her license.
Studies have shown texting slows down driver reaction time and increases the likelihood of an accident. Numerous states, including California, Illinois and New York, already have a texting ban.
Florida’s texting ban would take effect Oct. 1, if approved by the Legislature. Gov. Charlie Crist supports the ban.
March 1, 2010
Lawmakers take texting-while-driving debate to Tallahassee
By LAURA FRAZIER | The Tampa Tribune
No fewer than a dozen bills that address cell phone use and texting while driving in the Sunshine State are on the table in Tallahassee this week, as lawmakers gather for the start of the 2010 legislative session.
PLANT CITY – You won’t catch Rich Glorioso texting behind the wheel while he treks to Tallahassee.
Glorioso is one of 20 state representatives so far to co-sponsor House Bill 41, introduced in October by Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota. If passed, the bill would ban Floridians from sending or receiving electronic text messages while driving.
“I don’t even like to talk on the phone while I’m driving if it’s a heavy conversation,” Glorioso said. “And texting… it’s so distracting it’s as if you become a passenger in the car that you’re supposed to be driving.”
No fewer than a dozen bills that address cell phone use and texting while driving in the Sunshine State are on the table in Tallahassee, where lawmakers will gather Tuesday for the start of the 2010 legislative session.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving, and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is on a mission to have legislation in place by 2013 for nationwide restrictions.
The driving force behind the battle for the bans: a litany of studies that show a swell in the number of motorists who text or talk on the phone behind the wheel, and a rash of crashes reportedly caused by drivers engaged in the practice.
According to the U. S. Department of Transportation, distractions from mobile devices contribute to 6,000 deaths each year on America’s highways.
Some states with mobile device bans allow the use of hands-free or Bluetooth devices. Not everyone is convinced, though, that the hands-free option is a safer approach.
Studies cited in reference to several bills under consideration contend that any kind of electronic communiqué while driving can induce inattentional blindness. The phenomenon, commonly documented in psychological literature, occurs when a person who is focused on a task at hand – in this case, texting or talking on a phone – fails to register an object that suddenly appears in their line of sight – such as a stop sign, a red light or an oncoming car.
Aside from safety issues, there may also be political and financial implications for lawmakers deciding whether to back such bans.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced a bill in July that would require all states to ban texting while driving, or else lose 25 percent of their allocated federal highway funds. During a Transportation Department summit in September, Rep. Holder from Sarasota told lawmakers Florida’s portion at stake comes close to $196 million.
Glorioso said a nationwide initiative might be overkill. He favors a plan at the state level that would consider texting while driving as a secondary offense, with enhanced penalties.
“If you go through a stop sign or get into an accident while you’re texting, you pay an enhanced fine,” he said.
There are few published evaluations of state driving laws related to cell phones, according to the AAA Foundation. Such laws could be tough to enforce as a primary offense, particularly given the popularity of hands-free and Bluetooth devices that can’t be seen in use from outside the vehicle.
That’s why Glorioso thinks a secondary offense law is the way to go.
“The key is enhanced penalties,” he said. “If you make ‘em strong enough, that will be a deterrent.”
App Disables Text Function While Driving
Fewer than 5 percent of drivers age 45 or older who responded to a AAA Foundation For Traffic Safety survey admitted to texting while driving, but more than half of those aged 18 to 24 said they did. It’s a big concern for parents who send novice drivers out on the road.
A new application available on some cell phones and mobile devices could tame teens’ temptations to text behind the wheel.
The app, Textecution, uses GPS technology to disable texting when the phone is travelling faster than 10 miles per hour. The feature is restored once the speed is slower than 10 mph.
To learn more, go to http://www.textecution.com.
Cell Phone Laws
•A jurisdiction-wide ban on driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone is in place in seven states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. Under the Utah law, violators are only charged with a secondary offense for using a cell phone if they also commit another moving violation, other than speeding.
•Cell phone use while driving a school bus is prohibited in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
The use of all phones by novice drivers is restricted in 21 states and the District of Columbia.
•Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Novice drivers are banned from texting in nine states (Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas and West Virginia). School bus drivers are banned from texting in one state, Texas.
•Local jurisdictions may need state authority to ban cell phones. Localities that have enacted restrictions include: Oahu, Hawaii; Chicago; Brookline, Mass.; Detroit.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Brooklyn, North Olmstead, and Walton Hills, Ohio; Conshohocken, Lebanon, and West Conshohocken, Pa.; Waupaca County, Wis.; and Cheyenne, Wyo.
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 627-4767
February 22, 2010
NHTSA CELL PHONE POLICY DRAFT
The wireless communications industry has grown at an extraordinary rate in recent years. There are currently more than 170 million cell phone subscribers -more than half of the US. population. According to a National Highway Trafic Safety Administration survey, 6% of daylight driving time – up fmm 4% in 2000 – involves talking on the phone.
However, NHTSA’s position is that the primary responsibility of the driver has always been to operate a motor vehicle safely. It is a task that requires full attention and focus. Statistics show that all distractions, whether associated with the use of technology or not, can increase the risk of a crash.
NHTSA estimates that driver distraction contributes to about 25 percent of all police reported traffic crashes. Though all distractions are a concern, we have seen the growth of a particular distraction, namely cell phone use while driving. While the precise impact cannot be quantified, we nevertheless have concluded that the use of cell phones while driving has contributed to an increasing number of crashes, injuries and fatalities.
A significant body of research worldwide indicates that both hand-held and hands-free cell phones increase the risk of a crash. Indeed, research has demonstrated that there is little, if any, difference between the use of hand-held and hands-free phones in contributing to the risk of a crash while driving distracted. Hands-free or hand-held, we have found that the cognitive distraction is significant enough to degrade a drivers’ performance.
We recommend that drivers not use these devices when driving, except in an emergency. Moreover, we are convinced that legislation forbidding the use of handheld cell phones while driving may not be effective in improving highway safety since it will not address the problem. In fact, such legislation may erroneously imply that hands-free phones are safe to use while driving.
October 21, 2009
Rollover Characteristics
Rollovers are complex crash incidents and are particularly violent in nature. Rollovers, more so than other types of crashes, reflect the interaction of the driver, road, vehicle, and environmental factors. So while vehicle type does play a significant role, other factors such as driver behavior and road and environmental conditions can also cause a vehicle to roll over.
VEHICLE TYPE
All types of vehicles can rollover. However, taller, narrower vehicles such as SUVs, pickups, and vans have higher centers of gravity, and thus are more susceptible to rollover if involved in a single-vehicle crash.
SPEED
Fatal rollover crashes are speed-related more often than fatal non-rollover crashes. Some 40% of fatal rollover crashes involved excessive speeding . Additionally, nearly ¾ of fatal rollovers took place where the posted speed limit was 55 miles per hour or higher.
ALCOHOL
Nearly half of all fatal rollover crashes involve alcohol . Impairment can result from any blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above .00 . Even a small amount of alcohol will negatively affect your judgment, muscular coordination, and vision, making you more likely to lose control of your vehicle.
LOCATION
Rural roads tend to be undivided and without barriers. They are thus more likely to be the scene of a fatal rollover. Almost ¾ of fatal rollovers occur in rural areas where the posted speed limit is typically 55 miles per hour or higher.
ROUTINE DRIVING
NHTSA data also suggest that over 90% of the vehicles in fatal, single-vehicle rollover crashes were involved in routine driving maneuvers (going straight or negotiating a curve) at the time of the crash. This further suggests that driver behavior (distraction, inattentiveness, speeding, and impaired driving) plays a significant role in rollover crashes.
SINGLE-VEHICLE CRASHES
NHTSA data show that nearly 85% of all rollover-related fatalities are the result of single-vehicle crashes. This means that the majority of rollover crashes and fatalities do not involve any other vehicle besides the one that rolled over, further suggesting that driver behavior plays a significant role in rollover crashes.
Call the Vehicle Safety Hotline toll free at (888) 327-4236 to report safety defects or to obtain information on cars, trucks, child restraints, highway or traffic safety.
October 19, 2009
What’s a Sense of Smell Worth?
For a Port St. Lucie woman, a sense of smell was worth $450,000. That’s the amount Stuart attorney Philip DeBerard obtained for her in an insurance settlement.
The young woman fractured a bone in her middle ear when she unbuckled her seat belt and attempted to get out of her boyfriend’s parked car. In an effort to keep her from leaving the vehicle, her boyfriend slammed on the gas pedal, accelerating instead of stopping, ignoring a stop sign, and making a sharp turn at 20 miles per hour. The force of this maneuver threw the young woman out of the car and onto the pavement, where she violently hit her head and fractured the right temporal bone in her auditory canal (middle ear).
The injury left the 18-year-old woman with anosmia — a permanent loss of smell — and a partial loss of taste. Prior to this accident, the young woman was very healthy and active, attending school and working part-time. Now, she will not be able to smell the flowers on her wedding day, the salt air at the beach, the special smell of a freshly clean and powdered baby, or even a dangerous gas leak in her house.
September 8, 2009
TEEN DRIVERS
www.flainjurylawyer.com and request a Signing On For Safety Contract for FREE
It’s not just good parenting, it’s a matter of life and death. You need to talk to your kids about traffic safety early and often – before they reach driving age. When your teenager begins driving, we recommend that you set rules and then clearly outline the consequences of breaking the rules. Remind your teenager that driving is a privilege – a privilege they will lose if they don’t drive by your rules.
We know that getting through to your teen can be tough, but research tells us that teens listen to their parents, and that you influence your kid’s driving habits.
Set the standard
You need to teach safe driving behavior from the beginning. As the parent, you can start by modeling safe driving behavior anytime you drive your kids anywhere, even before they begin to drive.
Talk to your teen about safety issues and the rules you are setting. Explain each one of your rules and the consequences for breaking it. Write up a contract with your teen driver to make sure they drive by the rules and drive as safely as possible. Include the most important issues. Here’s how:
Spell out the rules
Alcohol: Absolutely No Alcohol
Seat belts: Always Buckle Up!
Cell phone/texting: No talking or texting while driving
Curfew: Have the Car in the Driveway by 10 p.m.
Passengers: No more than one at all times
Graduated Drivers License: Follow the state’s GDL law
Parental Responsibility: Set your house rules and consequences
IS SPEEDING REALLY AN ISSUE ON THE ROADS?
Speeding is a factor in about one-third of all fatal crashes, killing more than 1,000 Americans every month. In 2007, 13,040 people died in speed-related crashes. Based on a national representative sample of police-reported crashes, in 2007 speed was a factor in about 15 percent of property-damage only crashes and 26 percent of crashes involving injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that the economic cost of speed-related crashes is more than $40 billion each year.1
In a high-speed crash, a passenger vehicle is subjected to forces so severe that the vehicle structure cannot withstand the force of the crash and maintain survival space in the occupant compartment. Likewise, as crash speeds get very high, restraint systems such as airbags and safety belts cannot keep the forces on occupants below severe injury levels.
IS SPEEDING REALLY AN ISSUE?
Speed influences the risk of crashes and crash injuries in three basic ways:
•It increases the distance a vehicle travels from the time a driver detects an emergency to the time the driver reacts.
•It increases the distance needed to stop a vehicle once an emergency is perceived.
•It increases the crash energy by the square of the speeds. When impact speed increases from 40 to 60 mph (a 50 percent increase), the energy that needs to be managed increases by 125 percent.
For practical reasons, there are limits to the amount of crash energy that can be managed by vehicles, restraint systems, and roadway hardware such as barriers and impact attenuators. The higher the speed, the more likely that these limits will be exceeded in crashes, thus limiting the protection available for vehicle occupants. To put speed into perspective, note that government crash tests for occupant protection are conducted at speeds of 30-35 mph, and these are severe impact speeds.
