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Sec. LaHood is unambiguous on distracted driving: don’t do it
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told NPR yesterday what he told Bloomberg News earlier this month: don’t drive while using a cellphone – including hands-free and Bluetooth devices. He explained that the cognitive distraction of phone conversations causes crashes, regardless of whether the driver is holding the phone.
The Secretary said that officers issued 5,000 tickets during pilot enforcement programs in Hartford, CT, and Syracuse, NY, in a matter of days and “distracted driving dropped dramatically in both of those cities.”
In a discussion about why police officers are allowed to talk on their phones, a caller asked if LaHood supports training that would certify people to use their cellphones while driving. The Secretary’s response was simple: “Absolutely not. Driving and talking is dangerous, using a cellphone or a blackberry is dangerous while you are driving.” He later scolded a driver for calling-in while driving, suggesting that they take another caller, but at that point time was up and the interview was concluded.
As always, check out our Advocacy Advance report on distracted driving to learn more about how bicycling organizations have campaigned for texting bans and other laws to stop distracted driving.
Secretary LaHood talks about Distracted Driving
UPDATE: Also, see this interview in Grist in which the Secretary talks about how his upbringing in Peoria, IL shaped his understanding of livability. Hat tip: StreetsBlog Capitol Hill
Darren Flusche
League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
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October 27th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
This is an important policy to support. LCIs traditionally cite reliable sources to say that same direction, overtaking crashes are rare. Furthermore, we teach cyclists to be visible through optimal lane positioning and taking other efforts to be visible, i.e., using proper lighting at night, using optimal lane positioning when approaching intersections, etc. These all posit that other people are paying attention.
What has worried me is whether same-direction crashes will no longer be rare if drivers are staring into their laps rather than paying attention to the road. For example, I just read a report where one of our employees simply crashed into a guard rail while talking on the phone. Huh?
Distracted drivers mean more injured cyclists. We need to put a stop to this nonsense. Three cheers for Ray LaHood.
January 10th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Veel vernietigen van het archief en mobiele archiefvernietiging. Erg belangrijk voor uw vertrouwelijke documenten.
April 13th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
Distracted Driving Video Contest – Vote now!
Help Michigan Personal Injury Lawyers, Buckfire & Buckfire, and the American Lawyer Academy select the northern regional winner for the 2010-11 Viral Video Scholarship Contest. The ALA Viral Video Scholarship contests offers $25,000 in scholarships toward college tuition at a recognized academic institution.
The theme of the contest is “distracted driving” and high school students and college students nationwide have submitted their vides. We have chosen two finalists. Now we need your help in deciding on the winner.
Vote now by visiting this link: http://www.buckfirelaw.com/library/northern-region-finalists-viral-video-film-contest.cfm
Copy and paste link in your browser. Limit 1 vote per IP address per day. Public voting ends May 7, 2011 and regional winners will be announced May 15, 2011.
Help promote safe driving and vote!
June 25th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
I actually copy your article and i sent it to my buddy because it is very pertinent to her and i think about your article as certainly one of my favorite among my lists.
September 28th, 2011 at 1:06 am
Police use 2-way radios not cellphones. Radio procedure is very different from talking on a phone. You have to push a microphone button to transmit, and you have to keep transmissions brief.