Ntsb Wants To Ban All Electronic Device Use In Vehicles

Yesterday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended all 50 states and DC ban the use of cell phones and other electronic devices by all drivers except in emergencies. This means that, under this rule, you would not be allowed to operate any electronic device, including an MP3 player or phone, while in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. Their recommendation came after a finding by the board that a deadly highway pileup in Missouri last year was caused by a 19 year old pickup truck driver texting 11 times in 11 minutes before plowing into a tractor-trailer that had slowed for construction on Interstate 44. The pickup truck was then rear-ended by a school bus, which was rear-ended by another school bus. Besides the pickup truck driver, a high school student died in the crash.

More than one in six drivers sends text messengers while driving. According to an article posted by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, “An estimated 3,092 traffic fatalities in 2010 were blamed on distracted drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nearly half of drivers less than 25 years old are doing it, according to a NHTSA survey released last week.”

"This is becoming the new DUI," said Robert Sumwalt, a member of the safety board. "It's becoming an epidemic."

State Senator Joe Simitian of California, who succeeded in getting a law passed in 2006 that bans drivers there from talking on a hand-held phone, called the board’s recommendation “a wake-up call about the dangers of distracted driving.”

Do you text while driving? Do you make phone calls while driving without using a hands-free device? Then shame on you! While I am not in favor of creating more laws, clearly something needs to be done about the dangers of distracted driving. Bluetooth mobile headsets are inexpensive and provide a hands-free for phone calls. Some mobile headsets even let you dictate text messages so you don’t have to type. Depending on your phone, you can download an app to read you the text messages outloud eliminating the need to look at your phone while driving. There really is no excuse for not having a hands-free device.

Do you think a ban on electronic device use in vehicles is a good idea? Personally I don’t think that law enforcement is capable or even willing to enforce such a law. They are already overburdened. So if not more laws, what do you suggest we do about this ever growing problem? Got any ideas? Let me know and I will post them.

By: CellPlaza

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