Cellphones and Distracted Driving
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7/27/2019 Cellphones and Distracted Driving
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CAPITOL fcs & figus
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cuncil f s gvnmns
Cellphones and Distracted Driving
Evan Lieberman was a passenger in a friends car onhis way to work in Orange County, N.Y., at about 7 a.m.June 16, 2011. He never made it to work. A car driven byMichael Fiddle crashed into the car. After a month in thehospital, Lieberman died from his injuries. Both men were19-years-old.
Fiddle told the police he had fallen asleep at the wheel.Because New York has no drowsy driving laws, Fiddlewasnt cited or charged for breaking any laws. Two yearslater, USA Today reports,1 when Liebermans parents leda civil suit, they gained access to Fiddles phone records.Fiddles records were enough for an administrative judgeto charge Fiddle with violating several trafc laws duringthe time of the accident, including using his cellphone.Fiddles license was suspended for a year on April 5, 2013.In addition, Liebermans parents formed an organization,Distracted Operators Risk Casualties, which advocatesfor police and lawmakers to treat distracted driving as
severely as drunken or impaired driving.This highway death related to cellphone use is just one
of thousands across the United States. According to theNational Highway Transportation Safety Administration,distracted driving killed 3,331 people in 2011, accountingfor 10 percent of all trafc deaths. The high death toll hassparked an increase in laws that crack down on elementsrelated to distracted driving, such as texting or using ahandheld device.
State ActionSince 2007, when Washington state passed the rst
texting-while-driving ban: 41 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam
and the U.S. Virgin Islands have banned texting for alldrivers (as of June 2013);
Six states have banned texting for novice drivers; 11 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam
and the U.S. Virgin Islands have banned all driversfrom using handheld cellphones while driving;
37 states and the District of Columbia banned all cell-phone use for novice drivers;
19 states and the District of Columbia banned all cell-phone use for school bus drivers; and
As of May 2013, only two statesMontana and SouthCarolinahave no laws regarding the use of cell-phones.2
Enforcement While many states are passing legislation regarding
distracted driving, enforcement can be difcult. Despitestrict laws, people continue to text and use their handheld
device while driving. In fact, 31 percent of U.S. driversages 18 to 64 reported reading or sending a text mes-sage or email while driving at least once within 30 daysof responding to the survey, according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention.3 In addition, the presi-dent of the Safe Roads Alliance in Boston told the Los
Angeles Times that police ofcers are nding it difcult toenforce distracted driving laws.4
Some states have found ways to better enforce theban on cellphone use. According to CBS Albany inNew York, which was the rst state to pass a ban onhandheld devices for all drivers, patrolmen are usingunmarked police cars that are higher off the ground
than regular cars to give them a better view of driverstexting or talking on a cellphone.5 Because the hand-held ban in New York is a primary offense, an ofcercan immediately pull over a driver seen talking ortexting without having another reason.
New Jersey has proposed a new bill that would allowpolice ofcers to check a drivers cellphone at a crashsite. Senate Bill 2783, introduced by state Sen. JamesHolzapfel, allows ofcers to search the text and callhistory of a phone without a warrant when deciding ifa phone was used during the crash.6 The ofcer wouldbe required to return the phone onsite when nished. Asimilar bill failed in Hawaii in 2009.
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Strategies to Reduce Distracted Driving Other states are focusing on campaigns that
specically target drivers who use their phoneswhile driving. Delaware is in the third phase ofits distracted driving campaign, Phone in OneHand, Ticket in the Other, sponsored by the U.S.Department of Transportation.7 Delaware, which
has a primary ban on handheld devices for alldrivers and a ban on all cellphone use for schoolbus and novice drivers, already has handed outmore than 4,000 citations for distracted drivingsince November 2012; 2,000 were issued betweenApril 9 and April 22, 2013 alone. The goal of thecampaign is to lower the rate of cellphone usewhile driving through increased enforcement andpublic service announcements.
Syracuse, N.Y., and Hartford, Conn., found thatafter the Phone in One Hand, Ticket in theOther campaigns, cellphone use while drivingdecreased signicantly. California is also a part ofthe campaign.
Connecticut is attempting to deter distracteddrivers through new legislation that will giveinsurance agencies access to information aboutdistracted driving violations. Connecticut HouseBill 6033,8 introduced by the Transportation Com-mittee, requires the commissioner of the Depart-ment of Motor Vehicles to record a distracteddriving violation as a moving violation and createa point system on the vehicle operators license.These points would be available for inspection bythe drivers insurer. The bill was signed into lawon July 11, 2013.
Targeting a Younger Audience States also are targeting younger people who
are still in school and learning how to drive intheir efforts to stamp out distracted driving. Forexample, on May 30, 2013, Louisiana Gov. BobbyJindal signed into law Senate Bill 147,9 whichbans the use of social media while driving. This
REFERENCES
1Corcoran, Terrence. N.Y. amily who lost son fghts distracted driving.USA Today. May, 29,2013.http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/29/ny-ather-fghts-distracted-driving/2370837/2Governors Highway Saety Association. Distracted Driving Laws.June 2013.http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateino/laws/cellphone_laws.html3Centers or Disease Control and Prevention. Distracted Driving.http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesaety/Distracted_Driving/ 4White, Ronald D. Laws against driving and cellphone use arent working, study fnds.http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/05/business/la-f-0406-distracted-drivers-201304065CBS Albany. Cracking down on distracted driving. May 15, 2013.http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/eatures/top-story/stories/cracking-down-distracted-driving-8301.shtml6Jarrett, Tracy. Law would allow cops to search phone ater crashes. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/12/18921600-law-would-allow-cops-to-search-phones-ater-crashes?lite7National Highway Transportation Saety Administration. Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other.http://www.distraction.gov/content/dot-action/enorcement.html8Connecticut House o Representatives. An Act Concerning Motor Vehicle Insurance Providers AndDistracted Driving (House Bill 6033). http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/TOB/H/2013HB-06033-R01-HB.htm9Louisiana State Senate. Senate Bill 147.http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=849914&n=SB147%20Enrolled\10Project Yellow Light. http://www.projectyellowlight.com/
Margaret Leer, CSG Research Assistant | [email protected]
law is geared toward younger drivers who aremore likely to use applications such as Facebook,Twitter and Instagram on their smartphone whiledriving.
Many schools have begun to implement programsto help teens learn about the dangers of distract-ed driving. One example is Project Yellow Light,10
a scholarship competition created by the family
of Hunter Garner, a high school student fromSpotsylvania County, Va., who died in a distracteddriving accident in June 2007. The competi-tion encourages current high school and collegestudents to create public service announcementsto educate others on the dangers of distracteddriving. The three winners receive up to $5,000 inscholarship money.
cuncil f s gvnmns
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/29/ny-father-fights-distracted-driving/2370837/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/29/ny-father-fights-distracted-driving/2370837/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/29/ny-father-fights-distracted-driving/2370837/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/29/ny-father-fights-distracted-driving/2370837/http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/12/18921600-law-would-allow-cops-to-search-phones-after-crashes?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/12/18921600-law-would-allow-cops-to-search-phones-after-crashes?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/12/18921600-law-would-allow-cops-to-search-phones-after-crashes?litemailto:mleer%40csg.org?subject=mailto:mleer%40csg.org?subject=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/12/18921600-law-would-allow-cops-to-search-phones-after-crashes?litehttp://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/12/18921600-law-would-allow-cops-to-search-phones-after-crashes?litehttp://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/29/ny-father-fights-distracted-driving/2370837/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/29/ny-father-fights-distracted-driving/2370837/ -
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state or other jrdto ext mea Ba
abaa ye
aka ye
rzoa no
rkaa ye
caora ye
coorado ye
coett ye
Deaware ye
Dtrt o coba ye
forda ye* 1
geora ye
ga ye
awa ye
idaho ye
io ye
idaa ye
iowa ye*
Kaa ye
Ketk ye
loaa ye
mae yemarad ye
maahett ye
mha ye
meota ye
m no
mor no
motaa no
nebraka ye*
neada ye
new ahre ye
new Jere ye
new mexo no
new york ye
north caroa yenorth Dakota ye
ho ye*
kahoa no
reo ye
peaa ye
perto o ye
hode iad ye
soth caroa no
soth Dakota no
eeee ye
exa ye 2
utah ye
verot ye
vr iad ye
vra ye
Wahto ye
Wet vra ye
Wo ye
Wo ye
Texting Bans
*Secondary Ban:
Ocers cannot cite drivers unless they commit another oense.1Eective 10/1/132Texas has banned texting in school zones.
cuncil f s gvnmns
state or other jrdto ad-ed Ba
abaa no
aka no
rzoa no
rkaa ye 1
caora ye
coorado nocoett ye
Deaware ye
Dtrt o coba ye
forda no
geora no
ga ye
awa ye
idaho no
io ye 2
idaa no
iowa no
Kaa no
Ketk no
loaa ye 3
mae no
marad ye 4
maahett no
mha no
meota no
m no
mor no
motaa no
nebraka no
neada ye
new ahre no
new Jere ye
new mexo ye 5
new york ye
north caroa nonorth Dakota no
ho no
kahoa ye 3
reo ye
peaa no
perto o ye
hode iad no
soth caroa no
soth Dakota no
eeee no
exa ye 6
utah no
verot no
vr iad yevra ye
Wahto ye
Wet vra ye
Wo no
Wo no
Hand-Held Cellphone Bans
118-20 years old2Illinois bans use o hand-held cell phones while driving in a school zone or in a highway construction zone.3Learner or Intermediate License4Eective 10/1/135In State vehicles6Texas has banned the use o hand-held cell phones in school zones.