Mixed Messages for Distracted Drivers

Some Texts Taking Driver's Attention Are Coming from Government Agencies

(CBS)  Jennifer Smith calls her mother's loss "death by cell phone." Last September, 61-year-old Linda Doyle was killed by a driver who ran a red light. Police say the 20-year old in the other vehicle was talking on his cell phone.

"No phone call could be worth someone's life," Smith said.

Distracted motorists, like a van driver texting on the go in San Antonio, Texas, are involved with 25 percent of all police reported crashes.

"Distracted driving is a growing and serious problem," said Jackie Gillan of Advocated for Highway and Auto Safety.

Gillan says the message is simple: drivers need to keep their eyes on the road, not the keypad, reports CBS News correspondent Terrell Brown. But Gillan is concerned drivers may be getting a mixed message.

"I think there is a mixed message if governments are putting out real-time information and using the technology that in order for the driver to access them puts them in danger," Gillan said.

Twenty-seven states and Washington D.C. ban texting while driving. Yet D.C. and 33 state transportation departments offer travel alerts via texts or the social messaging service Twitter, like the Michigan Department of Transportation.

"Our focus of using Twitter is to get people the information they need when they need it," said Kirk Steudle.

That was the case in July, after this fiery tanker crash near Detroit. The transportation department posted tweets alerting drivers of a major road closure.

"We want people to look at those messages before they get behind the wheel of their car," Steudle said.

Smith is lobbying to end distracted driving.

"I don't want to get another phone call that this has happened again," Smith said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports nearly 6,000 people lost their lives last year in a crash involving a distracted driver. More than a half million people were injured. And by far, drivers under the age of 20 are the worst offenders.

[Void_Master]

When operating a motor vehicle, you have no business using *any* communication device other than the vehicle's turn signals.

[mollydtt]

The people that think they can multi-task, and talk or text while driving---those are the very people that don't notice that they blew through a four-way stop sign, or kept going through a red light (5 or 6 seconds after the light turned red....) Just ask them--they don't have a problem with cell phones while driving.
Those people never even know what a threat they are to everyone else. There is defensive driving, and *then* there is defensive driving.
I see people make incomplete turns, because it is too hard to steer with one hand, but do they put the phone down?
I've seen people pull up to green lights and stop, ---they don't want to have to think about traffic during their all-important phone calls.

I have a cell phone, but it has voice mail--as does everyone else's cell phone. If I'm driving, the cell phone is off, mostly because I need every ounce of brain power to watch out for the jabberers and texters out there that can't stay in one lane.

[spaceatoms]

Yes, its a distraction like a girls softball game and all the mucky stuff that we want over here like washing your hands and giving a mucky smile at Thanksgiving while eight more kids get slaughtered in the middle east. The worst nightmare has come true now in the United States where we have become a data society and nothing else matters except clinging on to the edge and waiting for another Windows 95 to come out while we all go to China on the weekend with Viagra to rub elbows with a communist Chinese person as Warren Buffett counts his money.

[docpeter1953]

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[spaceatoms]

Yes, its a distraction like a girls softball game and all the mucky stuff that we want over here like washing your hands and giving a mucky smile at Thanksgiving while eight more kids get slaughtered in the middle east. The worst nightmare has come true now in the United States where we have become a data society and nothing else matters except clinging on to the edge and waiting for another Windows 95 to come out while we all go to China on the weekend with Viagra to rub elbows with a communist Chinese person as Warren Buffett counts his money.

[docpeter1953]

Need to put that bong down and get some fresh air for a day or three.

[thoughtxchange2]

Watch Seven Pounds with Will Smith- that will do it for you..

[goeswest]

Using cell phones or texting while driving should be outlawed throughout the nation for this endangers everyone who drives.I have a simple solution that will end this this.Anyone and I mean anyone caught using a cellphone or texting while driving should be fined $1000.000 and have their drivers license suspended for a month.If you get caught a second time then a $2000.00 fine and 2 months license supension.

Does my idea sound a bit draconian,yes but if it saves the life of someone you love than its worth trying.

[jjp735i]

Now that's a stupid head line. No matter who is sending the text, the sender does not know if the receiver is driving when the text is sent. The government is not sending mixed signals about texting and driving. It's the receivers fault for acting on the urge to read the text while driving.

Slow news day?

[KrystalKid]

80% percent of all rear end collisions (the most frequent vehicle accident) are caused by driver inattention, following too closely, external distraction (talking on cell phones, shaving, applying makeup, fiddling with the radio or CD player, kids, texting, etc.) and poor judgement. There's nothing you can do to prevent a rear end collision so I went out and got one of these sparebumper.com

[hennighg]

Does anyone else see the dark irony of: "Mixed Messages for Distracted Drivers"? That's very much the point, isn't it?

[poochie44]

I have a friend who can't drive her car without being on the cellphone. The minute she gets in she gets her phone out and starts dialing, once she is connected to someone then she puts on her seatbelt and starts the car. If she can't reach one person, she'll keep trying until she reaches someone so she can talk while driving. When I see her cell # come up on my caller I.D. I wait for her to leave a message. Then I wait about 1/2 hour to call her back when I know she's home so I don't have to talk to her while she's driving. I'd hate to be the one on the phone with her when she caused an accident. Some people just don't get it.

[sopmac403]

The cell phone is not the problem it is the driver that is the problem. If it isn't the cell phone then it's the looking for the cds' or whatever else that may cause a distraction. Stop worring about things in the car and focus on driving. I don't know how many times ive been cut off by some person aimlessly driving and talking on their cell phone or huntched over the seat of their car trying to look of something while doing 80 on the freeway.

[1notrub11]

Agreed, just because the dang thing beeps or rings, there is no requirement to respond to it. If you just HAVE to respond to it, pull over. The speed is irrelevant here, although obviously much more dangerous the higher it is - People still die at city street speeds.

[hologram5]

I agree with you, just like it isn't guns that kill people, people kill people. Idiots get distracted easily. If you can't keep your focus while driving then you shouldn't drive.

[Carvin82604]

What about all the cops I see in cop cars on their cell phones?

[stuart-johns1]

Okay so outlaw the cops too then.

[jaykay3141]

First offense: the idiot's cell phone is smashed and given back to him in a plastic bag.

Second offense: the phone is put somewhere very uncomfortable.

Third offense: ya don't even want to think about it.

[filmguy107]

ha ha ha...that's funny! I like it.

[bill0bob]

Here's a suggestion for parents: DO NOT let your kids have cell phones with texting. I don't want to die just so your kid can tell some other kid what he/she is thinking or doing every second of the day.

[stuart-johns1]

Has any legislator proposed a bill outlawing this rediculously stupid and self-fish deadly habit?

Let's just get on with it. This is a no brainer. Outlaw cell phones and save lives!

[us_1776]

No, we don't need to outlaw cell phones.

What we need to do is to pass some common sense restrictions.

Banning texting while operating a moving vehicle is a no brainer and we need to do this asap. A texting driver is worse than a drunk driver. A least a drunk is trying to drive. A distracted texting driver and looking at their keypad and is not driving at all.

We also need to restrict the use of cell phones to HANDS-FREE, VOICE-ACTIVATED ONLY. That makes them no more distracting than having a conversation with a passenger in your car.
You can dial the phone by saying something like "Call Home" and you can talk with both hands on the wheel by using a Bluetooth earpiece/headset.

And the most important thing is if people would just use common sense and keep all in-car calls to only critical communications and no chit-chat.