The Obama administration plans to offer recommendations today on how to combat the growing use of mobile devices while driving. While I’m no fan of more regulations, something needs to be done about drivers paying more attention to their cell phones than the road.
For example, the guy driving the wrong way on my double block last weekend may have noticed the one-way signs or that all the cars parked on both sides of the street were facing him had he not been talking on his cell phone. It wasn’t until he encountered oncoming traffic at 20th and Vermont that he realized his dilemma.
Then there was a guy who was signaling a right turn at a downtown intersection last night on my way home from the office. He didn’t make the turn on red, even though there was no cross traffic, and it took him several seconds to go once the light turned green because – you guessed it — he was engaged in a cell phone conversation that apparently couldn’t wait.
Drive around Quincy and see just how many people have cell phones pressed against the ears while they’re driving. It’s staggering. Either their attention is on the road or on the conversation, but not both, and that’s troubling.
Government reports show that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured last year in crashes where at least one form of driver distraction was reported. Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008 and was prevalent among young drivers.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws making texting while driving illegal, and seven states and the District have banned driving while talking on a handheld cell phone. Some are urging a nationwide ban on using handheld mobile devices while behind the wheel.
Missouri already bans texting while driving, and a similar law goes into effect in Illinois on Jan. 1. Click here for a breakdown for each state. As any driver’s education instructor will tell you, if you have to make a phone call while driving, pull over to the side of the road. It’s safer for you and safer for everyone else on the road.
I had to drive from downtown to Little Jess Jeep shortly before noon to have the Wrangler serviced, meaning there were three school zones to navigate along Maine Street. Oncoming drivers were busy chatting on their cell phones in two of the school zones on the way out, and in two of the three school zones on the way back.
