Calling summit on distracted driving

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-09-2001
Calling summit on distracted driving
10
Tue, 08-04-2009 - 12:25pm

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gBh5ii0HJc5TbtwUI4uxCB1DgKaAD99S0DCG1

from the article:

"LaHood calls summit on distracted driving
By JOAN LOWY (AP) – 6 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will convene a summit of experts to figure out what to do about the problem of texting while driving, a practice studies and a growing number of accidents show can be deadly.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will announce his decision to gather senior transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives, members of Congress and academics who study distracted driving at a news conference Tuesday. The summit will take place next month.

If it were up to him, he would ban texting while driving, LaHood said in prepared remarks released by his office.

However, past safety initiatives like seat belts have shown that a simple ban often isn't enough to get drivers to change their habits unless it's accompanied by education and enforcement, he said.

"When we are done, I expect to have a list of concrete steps to announce," LaHood said.

"The bottom line is, we need to put an end to unsafe cell phone use, typing on BlackBerrys and other activities that require drivers to take their eyes off the road and their focus away from driving," LaHood said."

(article continues...)



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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2009
Tue, 08-04-2009 - 3:19pm
I hope this leads to some new law(s) regulating the use of cellphones while driving! In my state, we tried to get legislation through, but it didn't pass. Text messaging is really a distraction, but just holding onto and talking on the cellphone is distracting while driving.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Tue, 08-04-2009 - 3:43pm
We have laws against driving while talking on a hand held cell but it doesn't seem to make any difference. I see people breaking this law all the time.
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-09-2001
Tue, 08-04-2009 - 5:48pm
IMO, hefty fines and even suspension of driver's licenses are warranted if these careless people cause an accident of any kind. The laws are not being enforced, when there *are* laws. In some cases, officers cannot pull over drivers *just* for these infractions. Much like seatbelt laws. That doesn't help. >>:=\ Without consistent enforcement *and* severe enough penalities, not much will change. Maybe more people have to be mangled and die first?


Blessings,

Gypsy





Photobucket



"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.

It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.

It is the little shadow which runs across the grass

and loses itself in the sunset.



- Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator



Photobucket Photobucket



Dog fighting is cruelty, which is a human activity and a human illness.

It's not the dog's fault.

All dogs need to be evaluated as individuals."

--Tim Racer, one of BAD RAP's founders



http://www.badrap.org/rescue/



Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Photobucket



Mika Dog




"All things share the same breath;

the beast, the tree, the man.

The Air shares its spirit with

all the life it supports."

--Chief Seattle



"If there are no dogs in Heaven,

then when I die I want to go where they went."

~Will Rogers



"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress

can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

~~Mahatma Gandhi











Blessings,

Gypsy

)O(



iVillage Member
Registered: 05-02-2006
Thu, 08-06-2009 - 1:48pm

Hi!

2010 Siggy
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2007
Fri, 08-14-2009 - 10:30pm

I don't text, and I rarely use a cell phone. I have difficulty understanding why some people are so addicted to this nonsense.

I only use my cell phone in case of emergency. People who call on my cell to chit chat, annoy me to no end. I quit giving out my cell number long ago.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Sat, 08-15-2009 - 7:30am

"I only use my cell phone in case of emergency."


Same here.

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Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Tue, 08-18-2009 - 12:28am

Is this really a federal issue? Can we not trust the states to handle this? For that matter, aren't existing laws against reckless driving, failure to maintain a safe lookout, improper lane changes, etc adequate to address this?


It would seem to me that we have enough bona fide federal issues on the table right now that this would be a distraction.

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Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 08-18-2009 - 8:13am

I was thinking the same thing. Is this a federal issue? Only I was taking it one step further and wondering why it's an issue at all.


Where is the common sense in our society anymore? No one, especially the law, should have to tell grown adults that typing and driving at the same time is dangerous. We wonder why we are a country with sooooo many laws. Maybe it's because we don't have sense enough to self regulate our own behavior. Not to mention that we have this uncontrollable obsession with gadgets.


Maybe because cell phones are a relatively new thing, but there is absolutely no etiquette when it comes to their use. Public restrooms, for crying out loud. What conversation is so almighty important that it can't wait until after someone has used the bathroom? And the grocery store. Ever gotten behind a rather wide woman learning on the shopping cart as she shuffles slowly down the aisle, phone in ear, yacking about her mother's

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Tue, 08-18-2009 - 11:09am

"It would seem to me that we have enough bona fide federal issues on the table right now that this would be a distraction."


I agree. The state I reside in has laws against cell phone use whilst driving but people still do it. The police need to crack down more & hand out stiff fines.

 


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Tue, 08-18-2009 - 11:24am

Last Winter I was in the grocery store waiting in line at the cashier's. Not many people

 


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