There is a texting while driving epidemic in America. I see it almost daily. Not a week goes by that I don’t speak with a Kentucky accident victim that was injured by a distracted driver. Someone texting on their cell phone is the most common cause of these accidents.

A “Distracted Driving Summit” was announced by the federal Secretary of Transportation on August 4, 2009. The senate recently discussed a proposal for withholding federal highway dollars from states that fail to enact laws that ban texting while driving. The meeting is slated to occur in September. Safety experts, academics, elected officials, the police and others will be given the opportunity to discuss strategies to effectively ban texting while driving, cell phone use and other driver distractions with the hope of saving lives.

            Distracted drivers (including texting drivers) were compared to drunk drivers by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Lahood feels that Americans became fed up with their children being killed by drunk drivers and are now tired of the idea that people can text and drive in some states.

Will outlawing this type of activity by drivers save lives?  The Governors Highway Association has mad recommendations that oppose texting while driving. This same group opposes the implementation of laws that have no teeth and cannot be enforced. Fourteen states have a ban on texting and driving. Kentucky currently bans texting only for drivers under 18 and school bus drivers.

Studies show that texting while driving increases the risk of a crash. I don’t need a study to tell me this, but the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute did such a study. It showed texting truck drivers were 23 times more likely to be in a crash or near crash situation.  Cell phone users’ risks increased 4 times. College students fared better in a Study by The University of Utah. The likelihood of this group being in a crash increased 8 times.

Americans are inconsistent on their views about cell phone use. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety did a survey. 58% of those surveyed feel talking on a cell phone and driving is a serious threat. This increases to 87% for texting and driving.  67% of this group also said that they had recently used their cell phone while driving. It appears we feel it is okay for me, but not for someone else.

The federal government usually does not get involved with laws about driving; it is left to each individual state. I think it is fair to say that eventually there will be pressure put on states to pass laws or forfeit funding. Kentucky will eventually join the parade of states banning texting and driving, but it will be a while.

Wise up and put the phone down. Distracted drivers cause accidents. I had another client interview yesterday where the auomobile accident was caused by a texting driver that went off the road, over corrected and caused a head on collision. The accident and injuries could have been avoided if the phone was not being used. I wonder what was so important?

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