States Need Federal Support to Address Distracted Driving

By: Barbara Harsha, Executive Director, Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)

High-profile crashes and tremendous media coverage have dramatically increased the interest in distracted driving, particularly crashes involving cell phone use and texting. GHSA recognizes that all cell phone use and texting while driving are extremely dangerous and, therefore, strongly discourages anyone from using a cell phone for any purpose while driving. Drivers need to focus on the driving task and restore some common sense to driving.

To address this growing problem, the federal government does not need to sanction states that do not pass cell phone or texting while driving bans. Rather, there are a variety of actions the federal government can take to help states best respond to distracted driving.

These include:

Fund research to develop effective methods for enforcing texting and cell phone bans. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has already committed to such a project which is expected to begin this fall. While a number of states currently have banned texting and hand-held cell phone use, enforcing such bans has proven difficult. Additional study of the effectiveness of state bans is needed.

Fund research to determine the nature and scope of the distracted driving problem. It is very difficult to ascertain the scope of the distracted driving problem given that the public is not likely to readily admit guilt in a crash investigation. Special studies are needed using subpoenaed phone records to determine the involvement of phoning or texting in a crash. Further, there are contradicting research findings about the benefits of hands-free devices, and more study are needed on this issue.

Fund a media campaign to alert the public to the dangers of distracted driving. This effort is needed to help develop a culture that will make the practice socially unacceptable, similar to how drunk driving has come to be perceived with the vast majority of the public.

Develop model policies for employers encouraging them to ban cell phone use/texting by all employees driving for business purposes. Employers should be encouraged to communicate safe driving practices with their employees. These policies and programs should be evaluated for their effectiveness, best practices should be indentified, and a model policy should be developed and promoted.

Provide financial incentives for states that pass comprehensive graduated licensing laws that include cell phone/texting bans for new drivers. Congress has a history of providing incentives to get states to enact seat belt and other safety laws. A similar approach should be employed for teen driving. States should be incentivized to pass strong, three-tiered teen licensing laws that include a ban on using all electronic devices while driving. This approach makes sense for new drivers because parents/guardians can be the ones to enforce the restrictions. Additionally, these bans encourage new drivers to "get off on the right foot" when it comes to driving and not pick up dangerous habits.

Support technological solutions that minimize driver distraction. Technology has created this issue, but it can also be part of the solution. GHSA is very interested in systems that automatically disengage a driver's cell phone while the driver is driving. These voluntary systems could be particularly useful tools for parents of teen drivers or for employers who want to monitor their employees' cell phone use while on work business.

Distracted driving did not become a problem overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. There is a not likely to be a one-size-fits-all solution. The Secretary of Transportation's upcoming distracted driving summit offers an excellent start toward developing a comprehensive solution that embraces technology, legislation and educational approaches.