- Distracted driving
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Distracted driving, a replacement phrase for the more popular terms "texting while driving" and "talking while driving," is what occurs when a driver has something other than driving on his mind.[1] Driving becomes subsequent in importance to another activity that is happening inside the car, truck or cycle while the vehicle is in motion.
According to Peter H. Appel administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) and the Obama administration's point person on transportation technologies, distracted driving has grown exponentially as a problem tied to rapidly evolving technology developments. Technologies as a source of driver distraction according to RITA include: cell phones, PDAs, mp3 players, video players, guidance systems, driver/operator information systems, and devices that allow texting, e-mailing and other communications.[2] RITA is also looking to new technologies which can enhance transportation safety and reduce distracted driving via a program called the Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge.[3]
New York Times writer Matt Richtel won a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for a series on distracted driving.[4]
A poll conducted in October 2010 found that 93 percent of American drivers engage in distracted driving, such as texting behind the wheel, eating behind the wheel or even kissing behind the wheel. [5]
Distracted driving has increasingly captured the public's attention as a serious cause of auto accidents across the US thanks to increased media exposure such as a two hour special episode of ABC television's Extreme Home Makeover. It is now widely agreed that distracted driving is more dangerous than drunk driving.[citation needed] While texting while driving is often cited a a primary cause of distracted driving accidents,[citation needed] distracted driving is not limited just to using a cellphone while simultaneously operating a motor vehicle. It can also involve situations where a driver might be distracted by children or pets in the car, or by other in-car devices such as a music player or satellite navigation equipment.
Distracted driving laws vary from state to state in the U.S.[6]
In September of 2010, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a report on distracted driving fatalities for 2009. The NHTSA considers distracted driving to include some of the following as distractions: other occupants in the car, eating, drinking, smoking, adjusting radio, adjusting environmental control, reaching for object in car, and cell phone use. In 2009 in the U.S. there was a reported 5,474 people killed by distracted drivers. Of those 995 were considered to be killed by drivers distracted by cell phones. The report doesn't state whether this under or over represents the level of cell phone use amongst drivers, and whether there is a causal relationship.[7]
A 2003 study of U.S. crash data states that driver inattention is estimated to be a factor in between 20 to 50 percent of all police-reported crashes. Driver distraction, a sub-category of inattention, has been estimated to be a contributing factor in 8 to 13 percent of all crashes. Of distraction-related accidents, cell phone use may range from 1.5 to 5 percent of contributing factors.[8] However, large percentages of unknowns in each of those categories may cause inaccuracies in these estimations. A 2001 study sponsored by The American Automobile Association recorded "Unknown Driver Attention Status" for 41.5 percent of crashes, and "Unknown Distraction" in 8.6 percent of all distraction related accidents.[9] According to NHTSA, "There is clearly inadequate reporting of crashes".[10]
Currently, "Outside person, object, event" (commonly known as rubbernecking) is the most reported cause of distraction-related accidents, followed by "Adjusting radio/cassette/CD". "Using/dialing cell phone" is eighth.
See also
References
- ^ For better or worse, Webster's Word of the Year 2009: distracted driving, US Department of Transportation, January 5, 2010, http://fastlane.dot.gov/2010/01/websters-word-of-2009-distracted-driving.html
- ^ In vehicle technology to address distracted driver, Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety, April 18, 2011.
- ^ [http://fastlane.dot.gov/2011/01/connected-vehicle-technology-challenge-seekstraffic-safety-apps-through-crowdsourcing.html Guest Blogger RITA Administrator Peter Appel: Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge seeks your vision for transportation applications], DOT Fastlane, January 25, 2011.
- ^ Pulitzer citation. "Awarded to Matt Richtel and members of The New York Times Staff for incisive work, in print and online, on the hazardous use of cell phones, computers and other devices while operating cars and trucks, stimulating widespread efforts to curb distracted driving." "Driven to Distraction", Times series, July, 18, 2009-March 10, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ^ http://www.insurancequotes.com/distracted-driving/
- ^ , Public Health Law Research project, http://publichealthlawresearch.org/data-set/distracted-driving-laws
- ^ U.S. DOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Distacted Drive Report released Sept 2010 http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811379.pdf
- ^ Eby, David; Lidia Kostyniuk (May 2003). "Driver distraction and crashes: An assessment of crash databases and review of the literature" (PDF). The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/1533/2/97314.0001.001.pdf.
- ^ Jane C. Stutts, et al. (May 2001) (PDF). THE ROLE OF DRIVER DISTRACTION IN TRAFFIC CRASHES. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/distraction.pdf.
- ^ "An Investigation of the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 1997. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/wireless/.
External links
- distraction.gov Official US Government website for distracted driving
Categories:- Vehicle stubs
- Road safety
- Hazardous motor vehicle activities
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