Distracted Driving
Streetsblog Basics
NTSB: States Should Ban Hands-Free Calls While Driving
In Missouri last year, a 19-year-old driving a pickup at 55 mph sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes immediately before he caused a deadly crash.
December 15, 2011
BlackBerry Outage Linked to Massive Drop in Traffic Crashes
According to data released last week by NYPD, distracted drivers were the leading cause of city traffic crashes in August. Of 16,784 incidents, 1,877 were attributed to "driver inattention/distraction," while an additional 10 were linked specifically to phones or other electronic devices.
October 17, 2011
Ford, Verizon Support National Distracted Driving Law — And Its Loophole
Yesterday, Ford became the first automaker to endorse a bill, introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), to ban distracted driving. When a similar bill was introduced in the last session, Ford was the first to endorse it then, too.
July 13, 2011
With Plenty of Fanfare, Cuomo Toughens New York’s Distracted Driving Law
Standing in front of two police cars and an enormous electronic traffic sign, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed tougher statewide distracted driving legislation into law this afternoon.
July 12, 2011
Legislature Passes Distracted Driving Bill With Weaker Penalty Than Cuomo’s
Legislation beefing up the state's distracted driving laws passed the state legislature at the end of what was a fairly productive session on transportation issues last month. If signed into law, the bill should help prevent some of the 10,000 crashes caused by distracted driving each year in New York state. What passed the legislature is slightly weaker, however, than the distracted driving bill put forward by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
July 5, 2011
Cuomo to Introduce Statewide Distracted Driving Bill With Teeth
Andrew Cuomo said today that he will introduce a bill to toughen state provisions intended to protect people from drivers who text or use portable electronic devices of any sort behind the wheel. The bill closes loopholes and adds stricter penalties for distracted driving, which contributes to more than 10,000 crashes per year in New York state.
June 10, 2011
CBS2 Must Stop Reporting While Driving
The local news promo you're watching was broadcast on CBS2 last week to tout their "amazing new technology" -- Mobile2. What is Mobile2? According to the promo, it's "a fleet of units covering the entire Tri-State area" so that viewers at home can literally get the windshield perspective on what's going on outside.
January 31, 2011
LaHood Goes to Detroit to Talk to Automakers About Distracted Driving
A year ago, the Department of Transportation helped launch FocusDriven, an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using cell phones.
January 20, 2011
Limbaugh: Distracted Driving Regs a Slippery Slope to Totalitarian Rule
Last March, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh made clear that he’s not the sort to shed tears when cyclists get doored. Indeed, cyclists, in his mind, belong on the sidewalks instead of the streets.
October 21, 2010
Streetfilms: Tom Vanderbilt Talks Driver Behavior and Psychology
Whether you’re a transportation geek or just curious about why people do the things they do behind the wheel, Tom Vanderbilt’s Traffic is one of the most fascinating books you can open up. Tom, who also writes the excellent blog How We Drive, was kind enough to drop by the Streetfilms office for a conversation about … Continued
April 27, 2010