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Dec 1, 2016

SIGNS THAT DISTRACTING DRIVERS * USA

* New York - State, federal officials to meet on ‘I Love NY’ tourism signs

--- Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau will meet with New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Matt Driscoll next month to discuss a plan for taking down the more than 500 “I Love NY” tourism signs erected throughout the state, a spokesman for the federal agency said Monday... The spokesman, Neil Gaffney, said the officials will meet at the Federal Highway Administration’s Washington office. He said no specific date had been set. Earlier this month highway administration officials threatened to decrease the nearly $1 billion in federal funds the state receives annually for bridge and highway projects if the signs remained... State officials maintain the signs are a valuable tool in promoting New York’s lucrative tourism industry by providing information about the state’s attractions... But Gaffney said the signs do not conform to federal standards for such roadway signs and they are also unsafe because they contain so much information that they are distracting drivers... 
(Photo Credit: Howard Schnapp - The controversial blue New York State tourism signs on the Meadowbrook Parkway on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 in Freeport)   --  NY, USA - The Newsday, by Lisa Irizarry - November 28, 2016

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Jul 17, 2016

DISTRACTED TRUCKER * New Zealand : Driver and 31 cows free

* North Island - Talks to divert trucks from passing the nations second most hit bridge

--- A cattle truck wedged under a 3.9 metre bridgehas sparked action from Taumarunui Police to ban trucks from passing under what is believed to be the second most hit rail bridge in the country... Constable Mark Bolten said the inconvenience caused by a cattle truck on Tuesday, July 4 at 5pm, was enough to start the ball rolling... He said if nothing is done to change the situation Police will start laying criminal charges... It took over two hours to free the truck and remove 31 cows... The driver and cattle received no injuries and no alcohol was involved... He said the driver had previously been driving a smaller truck and didn't know anything was wrong until he hit the bridge... 
(Photo by FRANCES FERGUSON/FAIRFAX NZ - Yet another truck gets wedged under the country's second most hit rail bridge in Short St, Taumarunui) -- Taumarunui, North Island, New Zealand - Stuff/Fairfax, by FRANCES FERGUSON - July 13 2016

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Apr 19, 2016

TRUCKER'S CAMPAIGN * USA: Against "Distracted Driving Awareness Month"

* West Virginia - Truckers promote safe driving for Distracted Driving Awareness Month

-- West Virginia truck drivers are encouraging motorists to be more careful on roads as part of Distracted Driving Awareness Month... The West Virginia Trucking Association is working with the American Trucking Association and their Share the Road highway safety program to warn motorists of the dangers of distracted driving... Jan Vineyard, president of the WVTA said, texting is the leading habit of distracted driving that they’re hoping to change... Distracted driving is the number one cause of accidents and deaths through the United States... The WVTA is reminding drivers to put their phones away by storing it somewhere that is not visible, but easily accessible, to eliminate texting while driving, to be prepared to drive by getting plenty of sleep, to secure every item in your vehicle and to set a good example for young drivers... Share the Road is a highway safety outreach program of the American Trucking Associations that educates all drivers about sharing the road safely with large trucks... 
(Photo: W.Va., Raleigh County's turnpike)   --  Charleston, WV, USA - Metro News, by Carrie Hodousek - April 18, 2016

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Jun 4, 2013

* USA - DISTRACTED DRIVERS: Truckers have unique view of

* New Jersey - Distraction drivers are 23 times more likely to get into an accident

Trenton,NJ,USA -NJ Voices Guest Blogger/NJ.com, by Tom Clark, senior vice president of operations for Con-way Freight -June 01, 2013: ... Consider that truck drivers are perched about 4 feet above where the average motorist sits in his car. Their vantage point allows them to take in America’s landscape from another point of view. Unfortunately, what that view often includes is motorists doing everything but paying attention to the road... Distracted driving by the motoring public, including texting, is as common as exit signs and rest stops... Truck drivers’ reports of distracted driving aren’t merely anecdotal. In fact, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, 660,000 drivers are using their cell phones or electronic devices while driving in any given hour. In 2011, nearly 400,000 people were killed or injured in the United States because of distracted driving... Distraction while behind the wheel means drivers are 23 times more likely to get into an accident. The harm you may cause to yourself and others could be catastrophic...

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Apr 25, 2013

NHTSA's distracted-driving guidelines * USA

* DC - NHTSA's distracted-driving guidelines say hands-free calls are a-okay

(Image: Bluetooth headset concept by Ilshat Garipov) 
Washington,DC,USA -The Car Connection, by Richard Read -Apr 24, 2013: -- In February of 2012, U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a rough draft of preliminary recommendations on distracted driving. Those recommendations were aimed specifically at automakers in the hopes of guiding the vehicle design process and minimizing driver distractions... Among those features are: 
 - "video not related to driving"
 - "certain graphical or photographic images" (perhaps like moving maps?)
 - "automatically scrolling text"
 - "manual text entry for the purpose of text-based messaging, other communication, or internet browsing"
 - "displaying text for reading from books, periodical publications, web-based content, social media content, text-based advertising and marketing, or text-based marketing"... 


* Texas - Study: Hands-free texting is no safer than typing 

College Station,TXS,USA -The Car Connection, by Richard Read -Apr 23, 2013: -- A debate is raging about taking and making hands-free calls behind the wheel. Some folks think the practice is perfectly safe, while others (like the National Transportation Safety Board) believe that all conversations are distracting, whether or not drivers hold a phone to their ear... But what about other hands-free activities -- like dictating text messages to friends? A new study from the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A and M University reveals that sending those messages using voice-to-text software is just as distracting as looking down at your phone and typing messages by hand... To reach those conclusions, the Institute put 43 drivers on a test track and measured each on three separate tasks: 
 1. Driving without texting at all.
 2. Driving while typing a text message on a cell phone.
 3. Driving while dictating a text message using voice-to-text software...

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Apr 9, 2013

* USA - "Lost in thought or daydreaming"

* DC - Distracted drivers cause 10% of fatal accidents

(Photo)
Washington,DC,USA  -The Car Connection, by Richard Read -Apr 8, 2013: -- We often talk about the dangers of distracted driving -- and for good reason. Of the 32,367 traffic fatalities on U.S. roads in 2011, over 10% were linked to distracted drivers... But here's the thing: conversations about distracted driving typically center around mobile phones and motorists who chat, text, or tweet behind the wheel. Are those really the biggest distractions for motorists? According to a new study, the surprising answer is "not by a long shot"... The first reason was:  "Lost in thought or daydreaming" ...


* California - Texting and map-checking are equally distracting and illegal in 


Sacramento,CAL,USA -The Car Connection, by Richard Read -Apr 9, 2013: -- When you're behind the wheel, do you rely on your smartphone to get from Point A to Point B? If so, we have some potentially bad news... In January of 2012, a California driver was ticketed for using his cell phone while driving. (California, like several other states, prohibits drivers from using their phones except in hands-free mode)...  Not content merely to pay the fine and be done with it, the driver went to court, arguing that he wasn't texting or talking on the phone at the time of the incident, but instead using a navigation app. The judge found him guilty anyway... The man appealed, but late last month, he was handed another loss, the Appeals Court decided that using apps like Google Maps (or, for the daring, Apple Maps) was no different than texting or dialing a phone number under California law...

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Mar 19, 2013

DISTRACTED DRIVINGS SOLUTION ? * USA

* DC - Now this is how you stop texting and driving: ORIGOSafe

Washington,DC,USA -The Car Connection, by Richard Read -Mar 18, 2013: -- We've seen plenty of apps that address the problem of distracted driving -- and given the growing number of traffic fatalities linked to distraction, a solution can't come too soon... Unfortunately, most of those apps have a fair share of flaws. Many can be disabled or removed at the whim of the phone's owner. Others activate when they detect the phone traveling at a particular speed, meaning that users can lose access to their phones even when they're a passenger in a car, bus, or train... A new gadget from ORIGO called ORIGOSafe seems to work around many of those problems. It's not without its shortcomings, and we're not sure about its future prospects, but it's definitely worth a look... What separates ORIGOSafe from other distracted driving solutions is that it's more hardware than software. It is, quite literally, a safe for the driver's cell phone. And unless that phone is inserted in the ORIGOSafe, the car won't start...

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Mar 2, 2013

DISTRACTED DRIVING * USA

* DC - Car firms: Delay rule on distracted driving

Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson -March 2, 2013: -- Major automakers are lobbying the White House to hold off finalizing voluntary guidelines on preventing distracted driving. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade association representing Detroit's Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and seven other automakers, wants the Transportation Department to rethink its approach by creating guidelines that would apply to both automakers and cellphone companies... Guidelines proposed in February 2012 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are aimed at keeping drivers' focus on the task at hand. They are more restrictive in many instances, compared with guidelines that major automakers adopted about a decade ago... NHTSA's guidelines would limit device operation to one hand, leaving the other hand to remain on the steering wheel; limit to two seconds the time needed to look away from the road to operate devices for no more than 12 seconds per task; limit unnecessary visual information in the driver's field of view; and limit manual inputs required for device operation, among other proposals...

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Oct 6, 2012

DISTRACTED DRIVERS * UK

* UK - Study: Sat Nav Is Distracting, Even When You're Not Looking At It 

(Photo: BMW Pathfinder micronavigation system prototype)
London,EN,UK -The Telegraph (UK)/The Car Connection (USA), by Richard Read -Oct 1, 2012: -- Mapping technology is hugely important nowadays. But a new study implies that mapping devices can actually inhibit drivers' ability to see what's right in front of them -- and not for the reasons you think... The study was carried out at University College London. Researchers began by showing volunteers an image, then took the image away. They asked the subjects to keep that image in mind and told them that they would shortly notice a flash of light. Oddly, scientists discovered that the test subjects often didn't notice the flash... While conducting the experiment, researchers also scanned participants' brains. They discovered that the part of the brain responsible for processing new visual information was noticeably less active while test subjects tried to recall the image... The test subjects at University College London were mentally distracted but physically unencumbered. Provided their vision was up to snuff, reason would indicate that they should've noticed the flash of light. But they didn't...

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Jun 28, 2012

DRIVER DISTRACTIONS * USA

* Michigan - Newest Ford technology senses distraction, stress

(Photo by Karl Henkel / The Detroit News: The driver workload estimator can determine if a driver is too distracted or stressed)
 Dearborn,MICH,USA -The Detroit News, by Karl Henkel -June 28, 2012:   ... Researchers at Ford Motor Co., are developing a technology based on readings from sensors placed on the steering wheel, seat and safety belt that can measure a driver's heart rate, breathing rate and body temperature...  Coupled with a driver workload estimator — an algorithm that uses data from existing radar and cameras combined with input from the driver's use of the accelerator, brakes and steering wheel — a vehicle could silence in-car distractions if it deems the driver is under too much stress or is too distracted... The system will determine if the driver is already too preoccupied with driving to deal with an outside distraction. The vehicle could then trigger a "do not disturb" feature through MyFord Touch that would delay an incoming phone call or text message until the situation becomes less stressful...

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Jun 12, 2012

DISTRACTED DRIVING * USA

* NY - No elegant technical fixes for

(Photo by Tim Jean / Associated Press: Prosecutor Ashlee Logan shows jurors a photograph from an auto crash during the trial of Aaron Deveau, the first person to be tried in Massachusetts on a charge of motor vehicle homicide while texting) 

- When does a smartphone make you dumb? - When you're driving 

New York,NY,USA -The Detroit News, by Peter Svensson -June 11, 2012: ...  A new survey, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, exposes just how severe the problem is —especially among young drivers. In the survey, about 58 percent of high school seniors said they had texted or emailed while driving during the previous month. About 43 percent of high school juniors acknowledged they did the same thing... Thirty-nine states ban texting behind the wheel for all age groups, and an additional five states outlaw it for novice teen drivers. Even so, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said distracted driving is "a national epidemic"... The industry doesn't have a surefire cure...

* California - Apple's Siri Coming To Nine Automakers—Hands And Eyes Free 

(Image: Liviu Tudoran's "Apple iMove" design study)

 Cupertino,CAL,USA -The Car Connection, by Joel Feder -Jun 11, 2012: -- Distracted driving and hands-free calling are both very hot topics these days. And Apple is looking to help solve the problem with its new automotive integration of Siri called Eyes Free... Apple announced the Eyes Free system at its World Wide Developers Conference today during its keynote...   The system will integrate Siri from the iPhone and iPad with Bluetooth voice command systems with the hands-free button on the steering wheel. Apple announced nine automakers that will launch the Eyes Free system in the next 12 months, including: BMW, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Honda, and Chrysler... You'll note that Ford, Lincoln, Hyundai, and Kia are all absent from the list of automakers working with Apple. That might have something to do with the fact that these four automakers infotainment systems all have a back end that works on Microsoft software...

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Mar 15, 2012

DISTRACTED DRIVERS * USA

Are cars to blame for distracted driving?

(Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./USA TODAY: A recent distracted driver in Long Beach, Calif., near Los Angeles)
Washington,DC,USA -USA TODAY, by Jayne O'Donnell -12 March 2012: -- Automakers plan to testify today that smartphone and portable GPS makers should be included in new federal efforts to combat technology-related driver distraction... Proposed federal guidelines for in-car technology, the subject of the Transportation Department hearing, require automakers to block drivers from plugging addresses into navigation systems or browsing the Web. But devices drivers bring into their cars aren't addressed... Baloga and other auto industry spokesmen argue some drivers will turn to their mobile devices for information they can't get from their cars. For example, GPS devices that drivers can put anywhere they want could be used freely while driving, while built-in navigation systems would have strict limitations...

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Apr 19, 2011

Distracted Driving * USA - Still a problem for commercial fleets, says report

San Diego,CAL,USA -The Trucker News Services -19 April 2011: -- The study evaluated more than 13.8 million video events recorded over the course of 2010, involving 34,466 commercial drivers... Underscoring the importance of April's National Distracted Driving Awareness campaign, SmartDrive Systems today released the 2010 SmartDrive Distracted Driving Index, a look at commercial fleet distracted driving rates during the past year... Among several significant findings, the 2010 SDDI report shows that the top 5 percent of drivers with the most driving distractions were distracted 67 percent of the time during which a risky driving maneuver was observed. That's nearly six times more often than the rest of the drivers...

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Nov 12, 2010

Outlaw Distracted Driving * USA - Not Cellphone Use

So why, when traffic fatalities are declining nationally ("only" 34,000 people died in 2008), is distracted driving growing?

New Haven,CONN,USA -Courant, by TIM HOLLISTER -October 24, 2010:  ...   Foremost is the fact that auto manufacturers are now introducing electronics that are certain to draw older drivers, for whom texting is not second nature, into typing and reading while at the wheel. Coming to a vehicle near you are dashboard-mounted computers with Internet access, big screens that are synchronized with cellphones and their burgeoning array of "apps," and enhanced video, audio and navigation systems...   One automaker's website boasts that its new system allows the driver to connect "to a database of 14 million U.S. businesses." So far, neither Congress nor any state has tried to stop this trend, or challenge manufacturers' assertion that driving safety is a matter of individual responsibility...   Another factor, however, is that in the past several years, our primary response nationally to distracted driving has been for the states (motor vehicles generally being their exclusive province) to pass laws that attempt to keep up with this constantly changing technology. State legislators have tried to deal with distracted driving by defining and limiting use of cellphones, mobile electronic devices, e-mail, voicemail, instant messaging, iPods, MP3 players, pagers, personal digital assistants, laptops, DVDs and GPSs...

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Oct 29, 2010

Driving Distractions * USA & Canada - Cell phone restrictions in a dozen states, provinces

Seven states have hand-held cell phone bans in place -  Most Canadian provinces have now forbidden the use of hand-held cell phones

Grain Valley,Missouri,USA -Land Line Magazine. by Keith Goble -27 Oct 2010: -- For the past several years, efforts to reduce driving distractions for everyone have been a popular topic among elected officials. Various states and provinces have responded by putting in place outright bans on holding a cell phone up to your ear while driving... Seven states have hand-held cell phone bans in place. The states are California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington... The District of Columbia also outlaws the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. In Delaware, a hand-held ban takes effect Jan. 2, 2011. Illinois bans the use of cell phones while driving in highway work zones and school zones... Violations in each state and DC are a primary offense, except in Maryland... Most Canadian provinces have now forbidden the use of hand-held cell phones. The provinces are British Columba, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland/Labrador... There are no states or provinces that ban hands-free cell phone use for all drivers... (Picture from free-press-release)

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Oct 22, 2010

Distracted Driving * USA - Deaths fall 6%

Says Ray LaHood: “These numbers show that distracted driving remains an epidemic in America"

Washington,DC,USA -Bloomberg/Automotive News -September 20, 2010: -- Traffic deaths tied to driving while distracted by activities such as talking on a mobile phone or eating fell 6 percent last year from the previous 12 months, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said...   Crashes linked to drivers being distracted behind the wheel caused 5,474 deaths last year, down from 5,838 a year earlier and accounting for 16 percent of all road fatalities in 2009, unchanged from the previous year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration...   Researchers think the official statistics underestimate the number of crashes caused by distracted driving, LaHood said in the statement. Police reports in many states don't document inattention as a cause, he said...  Drivers in their 20s are the most likely to be involved in a fatal crash tied to distractions, according to the statement. For mobile phones in particular, the 30- to 39-year-old group had the highest involvement...   NHTSA's statistics show that distracted-driving fatalities as a portion of all deaths increased to 16 percent last year from 10 percent in 2005, the agency said...   The National Safety Council found in a January study that 1.4 million crashes a year are caused by drivers using mobile phones and at least 200,000 more by drivers who are texting...


* Cars Born to Run With Smartphone Apps

New York,NY,USA -The New York Times, Automotive News, by JOHN R. QUAIN -October 12, 2010: -- Most auto dealers will tell you that more buyers ask about how to connect an iPhone to a car or about the latest collision avoidance systems than they do about how quickly a car goes from zero to 60. So automakers are pumping up the technology...
(Photo: OUT LOUD OnStar plans to offer text messages that can be read aloud, spoken Facebook updates and the ability to play Pandora channels over a car’s stereo system)
The idea is to be able to offer continually updated services and features by relying on the smarts of smartphones rather than on in-dash computers, which may be obsolete before they roll off the assembly line. The first apps that work with Sync are Open Beak (a Twitter reader), Pandora (a music service) and Stitcher (a podcast news and information service)...   The Companies say the voice controls will reduce the threat of driver distraction. They plan to introduce these features gradually, starting this fall and extending over the next year...

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Oct 14, 2010

Distracted driving * USA - Much more than texting

List of actions taken by truckers while under way

Ann Arbor,MICH,USA -Fleet Owner, by Wendy Leavitt -Oct 11, 2010: ... Back in November of 2005, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and a private consortium led by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) began a multi-year project to develop an “Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety System” ( IVBSS). One result of the ongoing initiative is the recently publicly released “Heavy-Truck Field Operational Test Key Findings” report... As part of the IVBSS program, participating drivers were videoed while behind the wheel to see what activities not directly related to the job of driving they engaged in, such as talking on a cell phone, eating, smoking or adjusting various in-cab devices... The resulting considerable list of the so-called “secondary tasks” recorded may be almost as useful as the testing of the safety systems themselves for what it reveals about work life on the road... Here is an abbreviated version of the list:

* Dialing the phone
* Text messaging
* Talking/listening on the phone
* Talking on or holding the CB radio
* Talking to or looking at passengers
* Adjusting stereo controls
* Adjusting HVAC controls
* Adjusting other controls on the dashboard
* Adjusting the satellite radio
* Adjusting the navigation system
* Holding or adjusting other handheld devices
*Writing on or reading the manifest
* Eating
* Drinking
* Grooming
* Smoking
* Reading
* Writing
* Searching the cab interior

Secondary tasks related to communications were the most common (20.7%), followed by eating (9.7%)... The study also pointed out, “linehaul drivers on highways at night experience low traffic over long, continuous periods. While P&D drivers may be able to snack between stops or make a phone call while making a delivery, linehaul drivers eat and communicate while driving, both to break up the monotony and to maintain alertness” ...

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Oct 1, 2010

DISTRACTED DRIVING * WORLDWIDE

* USA - Warning labels on cellphones proposed

Washington,DC,USA -The Washington Post, by Ashley Halsey III -September 22, 2010: -- Cigarette packages and alcoholic beverages carry labels warning that they may be hazardous to your health. Should cellphones come with them, too? . Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, proposed the idea... The labels would warn that using a cellphone while driving is dangerous... LaHood announced last week that research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that distracted driving led to 5,474 highway deaths and 448,000 accidents last year, which was 16 percent of the national total... Asked whether such warning labels should be required in all new cars, LaHood said, "I want to work with the car industry on a few other things before I get to that"... In his opening remarks, LaHood scolded the auto industry for turning cars into entertainment centers... He said automakers have supported bans on text messaging and handheld cellphone use while driving, but have introduced other distractions... (Photo by Mark Wilson - Police Officer J.D. Hansohn flags down a driver who was talking on his cellphone)


* USA - Study: Talking to death: texts, phones kill 16,000: study

Washington,DC,USA -Reuters (CAN), by Maggie Fox -Sep 23, 2010: -- Drivers distracted by talking or texting on cell phones killed an estimated 16,000 people from 2001 to 2007, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday... The estimate, one of the first scientific attempts to quantify how many people have died in accidents caused specifically by mobile telephone distractions, also suggests a growing number of these drivers are under 30... Fernando Wilson and Jim Stimpson of the University of North Texas Health Science Center wrote in the American Journal of Public Health, and used details on road deaths from each state, on cell phone ownership and data on text message volume from the Federal Communications Commission... They got reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on deaths attributable to distracted driving... Just talking on a cell phone can distract a driver, and several studies have demonstrated that, even with a hands-free device. But Wilson said texting and using so-called smart phones that provide e-mail access and other distracting applications take the problem to a new level... (Photo from REUTERS/by Mike Blake - A driver uses his smart phone while in traffic in Encinitas, California December 10, 2009)


* Australia - Keep IAP separate from speed and fatigue

Sydney,NSW,Australia -ATN by Brad Gardner -October 1, 2010: -- Electronic work diaries should be mandatory but governments must not link them to the Intelligent Access Program (IAP), according to a telematics and software provider... Road Tech General Manager, Jaime Baldwin, says electronic reporting should be legally required for fatigue and speed compliance to boost safety... In his response, Baldwin highlights potential problems governments will face in imposing electronic work diaries... He says electronic monitoring could lead to “lazy enforcement” by regulators, penalties for minor infringements and “alienation of the drivers who will justifiably feel that they are being ‘spied on"... According to Baldwin, trucking companies should have access to digital data so they can monitor their drivers and take disciplinary action to ensure they comply with regulations... The National Transport Commission proposes a voluntary scheme to encourage companies to use telematics to improve compliance and efficiency... It wants 90 percent of the industry using the technology by 2030...


* UK - Police and VOSA increase tacho checks in North West

Chester,Chesire,UK -Road Transport, by George Barrow -30 September 2010: -- Vehicle compliance enforcement in the North West has received a boost after the Highways Agency and Cheshire Police opened a new vehicle checking facility near Sandbach services on the M6... Mobile tachograph disc scanners together with laptop computers and handheld tacho card readers will now be used to filter out drivers exceeding their daily or weekly hours... The Commercial Vehicles Unit (CVU) will also be used for round-the-clock checks on documents, vehicle roadworthiness and overloading. The depot, which is now being used as a model for further sites across the country, has also been equipped with payment facilities for penalty notices... (Photo from roadtransport/big-lorry-blog)


* UK - Police stop HGV driver with laptop on dashboard in Scotland

Stirling,Scotland,UK -The Lorry Crime Blog, by Joanna Bourke -September 30, 2010: -- A Hungarian lorry driver was ordered off the road after Central Scotland Police officers discovered a table, laptop and DVD player mounted to his dashboard. A "seriously underinflated tyre" was also detected by VOSA at the Craigforth weighbridge in Stirling... Chief inspector Donald McMillan, head of the road policing unit, comments: "It is incredible to think that any professional driver would put things in place which would obscure his vision" ... He was told he could not continue his journey until the faults were rectified... In the past, truckers have also been pulled over for offences such as watching DVDs while driving, and one was holding a mobile phone in each hand while texting... (Photograph by Blake-Ezra Cole/SWNS: Trucker caught reading on move)

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Sep 21, 2010

Distracted Driving * USA - Summit calls for reduction in


(Video -September 29, 2009 - Distracted Driving: Studies show that texting or using a cell-phone while driving is like having a blood-alcohol level of .08%. As Daniel Seiberg reports, despite all the laws and summits, real solution lies in our hands)

Washington,DC,USA -Associated Press, by KEN THOMAS –20 Sept 2010: -- Making sure drivers keep their eyes on the road will require a network of tough laws, enforcement by police and personal responsibility, the government said Tuesday... Obama administration officials said during a second summit on distracted driving that it had made progress in pushing states to target drivers who send text messages and use mobile devices from the road, but too many people are being killed because of inattentive motorists... Thirty states and the District of Columbia prohibit drivers from texting behind the wheel; eight states have passed laws barring drivers from using handheld cell phones. Nearly 5,500 people were killed last year in distracted driving crashes... Legislation is pending in Congress to push all states to ban texting by drivers. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said she was hopeful the Senate would consider the measure before the end of 2010...


* Distracted driving claimed 5,500 lives in 2009

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -September 20, 2010: -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says driver distraction caused 5,474 deaths and led to 448,000 injuries on U.S. highways in 2009... That number equates to 16 percent of all traffic-related deaths, up from 10 percent just five years ago... U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, noted that the nearly 5,500 deaths from distracted driving occurred despite overall traffic fatalities being at the lowest level since 1950. Tackling the problem of distraction would push the traffic fatality rate significantly lower... Tuesday's summit will bring together transportation officials, safety groups, law enforcement, researchers, industry representatives, and family members of victims...


* DOT Announces Broader Texting Ban for Hazmat Drivers

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -21 Sept 2010: -- Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, said Tuesday that the federal government would seek to ban text messaging by all drivers hauling hazardous materials... LaHood made the announcement in starting the Department of Transportation's second “distracted driving summit” here... A DOT spokeswoman said that the new proposal was necessary because the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration only has the authority to ban texting by interstate carriers, while the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration can regulate intrastate hazmat carriers... DOT’s rule banning texting by truckers was sent to the White House last week for review...


* UPS Reviewing Driver Cell Phone Use. Comprehensive policy would follow company texting ban earlier this year

Seattle,WA,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by John D. Boyd -Sep 21, 2010: -- UPS said it is preparing to follow its ban on driver texting with a broader policy on use of cell and smart phones while its employees are behind the wheel, in support of federal policies to combat distracted driving... DOT on Jan. 26 announced a ban on sending text messages over cell phones while driving... Also this year, UPS said, it implemented "a ban within its organization on text and e-mail messaging while behind the wheel. The company is reviewing a policy now that would comprehensively address the use of cell phones and smart phones."... Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, thanked UPS "for leading by example and joining us in this critically important effort."... Allen Hill, UPS senior vice president for human resources, said the company "is hardly a newcomer to safe-driving techniques and training." UPS said it spends more than $53 million a year on training, with nearly 1.3 million hours of safety-related instruction... However, he said, "we do see this as a problem of increasing importance" and "it is up to companies like UPS to help deliver" on the goal of saving lives through distracted driver policies... (Photo from wikipedia.org/Archivo: UPS truck)

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May 21, 2010

Distracted Driving * USA - Looking for Larger Solutions to



Detroit,MICH,USA -The Detroit News -May 13, 2010: -- Ban on texting while driving only part of distracted driver problem... Selecting songs on iPod, eating and personal grooming are also distracting... Aftermarket navigation systems don't have lockouts to prevent programming while driving as do OEM systems... Voice control seems a valid solution as demonstrated by Ford Sync and GM OnStar. Passengers may control devices while vehicle is moving arguing against banning... Only sensors requiring both hands on steering wheel will thwart driver use of gadgets... (Video from YouTube, by koattv —7 Feb 2008: Driving experiment shows the dangers of texting while driving. Studies show you are 5 times more likely to get in an accident)

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