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Obama administration to crack down on texting drivers

This article is more than 14 years old
Ray LaHood, US transport secretary, also hints at action against drivers distracted by mobile phones and GPS devices

The Obama administration today signalled a nationwide clampdown on people who send text messages while driving, a practice cited as the cause of a recent series of high-profile fatal crashes.

The transport secretary, Ray LaHood, also hinted at action against drivers distracted in other ways, such as by use of mobile phones and fiddling with electronic route finders.

He is organising a summit next month of transport safety specialists, members of Congress, police and others to discuss the problem. He plans afterwards "to announce a list of concrete steps we will take to make drivers think twice about taking their eyes off the road for any reason". He said: "This is a huge problem for America."

Road fatalities in the US have levelled off over the last decade, but academics argue that the increased use of airbags and other safety measures, combined with less tolerance of drink driving, should have resulted in a significant drop. That failure is explained, they say, by accidents caused in part by the increased number of electronic distractions that have become widespread.

LaHood, speaking a press conference in Washington, said: "If it were up to me, I would ban drivers from texting immediately. But unfortunately laws are'nt always enough. We've learned from past safety awareness campaigns that it takes a co-ordinated strategy combining education and enforcement to get results. That's why this meeting with experienced officials, experts and law enforcement will be such a crucial first step in our efforts to put an end to distracted driving. He added: "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."

He referred to a 17-year-old schoolgirl who was killed when she drove off the road in Peoria, Illinois last month while texting, a Florida truck driver who admitted texting moments before a fatal collision, and a train operator who was texting and involved in a crash last year that killed 25 people in California.

LaHood said he was primarily concerned about texting, use of mobiles and adjusting global positioning systems. He did not express a view about whether hands-free phones were acceptable, but a transport official said later this was a difficult issue, one that would be addressed by the summit. Academic research suggests that even hands-free devices are a significant distraction.

LaHood appeared to accept that GPS systems are acceptable provided they have a lock that prevents drivers adjusting them while a car is in motion.

Individual states have different regulations and LaHood hinted that he favoured creation of a national standard, as has happened with drink-driving. Asked if there would be federal legislation, he declined to answer, saying that would be for the summit to discuss.

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, in a study released last week, found that when drivers of heavy trucks texted, their collision risk increased 23 times.

No state has yet banned talking on mobiles while driving, though five states as well as Washington DC require drivers using mobiles to talk only on hands-free devices. Only 14 states have passed measures to ban texting while driving.

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