Road Safety – Annual Report 2014
Distraction
Distracted driving laws focus on the use of mobile electronic devices while driving. Each state in the US sets its own laws regarding distracted driving. As of April 2014, 12 States and the District of
Columbia (DC) prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. Thirty-seven States and DC ban all cell phone use by novice drivers. Forty-three States and DC ban text messaging for all
drivers.
In 2012, 3 328 people were killed on U.S. roadways, and an estimated additional 421 000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving (FARS and
GES). Of those people killed in distracted-driving-related crashes, 415 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction (12% of fatalities in distraction-related crashes). Of those injured in distracteddriving-related crashes, 28 000 involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction (7% of injured people in distraction-related crashes). Ten percent of fatal crashes and 17 percent of the injury crashes in
2012 involved reports of distracted driving.
• The Department and NHTSA continue to focus on distracted driving and its deadly consequences. There are several resources available to the public, communities, States and safety organisations, including a redesigned www.distraction.gov.
In April 2014, the DOT announced the Department’s first-ever, national advertising campaign and law enforcement crackdown to combat distracted driving.
The effort includes television, radio and digital advertisements using the phrase U Drive. U Text. U Pay. and coincides with a nationwide law enforcement crackdown in states with distracted driving bans. In addition, a social norming component, One Text or Call Could Wreck It All, was launched in late 2011 with a television ad and other supporting materials.
All of the PSAs direct audiences to StopTextsStopWrecks.org, a
new campaign website where teens and young adults can find facts about the impact of texting while driving, and tips for how to curb the behaviour. The website also has an area where individuals can post on Facebook and share their solutions to stop texting and driving.
Source: http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/
