What do Oprah, the Department of Transportation, the Triple A, insurance companies and, state governors have in common?
The US Transportation Department recently presented a proposal to ban text messaging at the wheel by interstate truck and bus drivers. This regulatory action follows up on Transportation Department public service program to mitigate distracted drivers that cause crashes.
The plan would make permanent an interim ban put in place earlier in the year by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The planned ban applies to bus drivers and truck drivers operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over five tons. As an indication of the scope of the issue, the drivers could face civil penalities and/or even criminal charges.
The US Department of Transportation reported almost 6,000 people died and over a half million were injured in 2008 in crashes involving distracted drivers. The department didn’t speculate how many of those deaths and injuries were linked to mobile phone. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reflects the Transportation Department statistics with projection that around eighty percent of crashes are caused by driver distraction. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is funding research to find out the extent of the distraction issue. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) states that driver inattention is a determining factor in many crashes, and mobile phone calls and texting are some of the most common driver distractions.
State legislatures have responded to the growing concern regarding mobile phone calls and sending text messages while driving by enacting a range of new laws, inclucing banning handheld mobile phone use or texting by all drivers or restricting cell phone use or texting for a specific demographic, such as teens or school bus drivers. The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that twenty states and Washington DC outlaw all drivers from texting when driving. Another nine states restricting texting by beginner drivers. The remaining states are expected to implement the ban before too long. However it is also widely recognized that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are required. The GHSA says it supports texting bans for all drivers, but does have concerns about enforcement.
A leading source of a potential solution is Phone Beagle. PhoneBeagle installs on Android and BlackBerry cell phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log activity.
The trucking and passenger bus trade associations support the text message prohibition, and many corporations have enforced policies prohibiting texting while driving. The government, industry and safety organizations have found common ground that distracted drivers caused bysending text messages is a menace to society, and is worthy of action. Advocates for addressing the problem also include media powerhouse Oprah.
The issue is a relatively new phenomenon. As navigation systems, cell phones and other mobile electronics have become ubiquitous in cars and trucks, safety advocates and the government have pushed for action to curb the problem.
As regulations and technology develop to solve the problems a software package from Phone Beagle is available to help deal with monitoring phone use. Their software is installed on Android and BlackBerry smartphones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other call log activity.