“Driving distracted” is a term we all hear about in the news, but what does it mean, how dangerous is it, and how can it be stopped?

The United States government wants every citizen to understand what distracted driving is, to be aware of the danger, and to stop driving while distracted.  Accordingly, the U.S. Department of Transportation has a website, www.distraction.gov, that is dedicated to the statistics, perils, news stories and other pertinent information about driving distracted.

Distracted Driving

A driver is distracted if his vision is diverted from the road, his hands are taken off of the steering wheel, or his mind is taken off of driving safely.  While cell phone use is, arguably, the most talked about form of distracted driving, it is not the only form.  Playing with the radio, eating, drinking, reading maps, using a GPS, and even talking to passengers can be distracting if it affects your visual, manual or cognitive attention from driving safely.

The Statistics

Distracted driving killed almost 6,000 people in the United States during 2008 and injured more than half a million more, according to distraction.gov.

Oprah’s No Phone Zone Day

Tomorrow, April 30, 2010, Oprah Winfrey will be joining forces with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and transportation safety organizations for the first national No Phone Zone Day.  Oprah’s April 30 show will be live and will be dedicated to ending distracted driving.  Tune in to Oprah tomorrow for more information about distracted driving and about what you can do to save lives – including your own.

Texting and talking on the phone while driving is dangerous.

Some states have already enacted laws banning texting while driving. Other states, like Pennsylvania, do not yet have such laws. As a result, a higher percentage of people probably drive and text where anti-texting legislation has not been passed. Drivers across the country continue to read, write and send texts while they are driving and in doing this, they cause serious accidents.

Nationwide Insurance Company conducted a survey on distracted driving, including texting while driving, in August 2009. The survey questioned people both about texting and other cell phone behavior. According to Nationwide’s statistics, 45% of survey respondents reported being hit or nearly hit by another driver using a cell phone in one form or another.

If you have been hurt by a driver who was texting or talking on the phone while driving, then you should contact a Pennsylvania car accident attorney to discuss your potential rights to a financial recovery. Over the past 20 years, accident attorney Jon Ostroff has helped over 20,000 Pennsylvania accident victims.

Parents and many state governments have been trying to prevent teens from using their cell phone for talking or texting while they are driving. Clearly, a higher percentage of teen drivers use their cell phones for talking and texting then any other age group. In order to decrease the likelihood of serious car accidents caused by teens, texting or talking on a cell phone while driving must stop. However, a parent’s texting while driving speech and a state’s texting while driving law may not be enough to stop this dangerous behavior.

Technology to Prevent Texting While Driving

Some texting while driving essays support new technology designed to prevent texting while driving.

Proponents of these technologies argue that even if drivers hear a new text message arrive on their cell phone while they are driving, no persuasive speech will stop most people from looking at the message. Even if they are subject to legal consequences for texting while driving, their behavior will not change. Instead, proponents of technology that will prevent texting while driving look at texting while driving accident statistics and propose one of the following types of technology:

• Electronic Virtual Assistant: The electronic virtual assistant (EVA) gives drivers a hands free option for sending text messages. When you hear that tell tale beep on your cellphone letting you know that a message has been received, your electronic virtual assistant will read the message to you via whatever hands free talking device you are using. Then you can dictate a message back that will be sent back to the recipient as an email. This technology is already available.
• Technology that Prevents Cell Phone Use in Moving Vehicles: This technology is more controversial and has yet to be implemented. It would prevent a cell phone from functioning in a moving vehicle. Before this type of wide sweeping technology could be applied, there would need to be a way to override it in emergency situations and to allow passengers in vehicles to use their cell phones.

In order for technology to help curb the texting while driving problem, it would need support from state lawmakers and cell phone manufacturers and users. It is unclear whether there would be support for this type of technology even among people who acknowledge that texting while driving is bad. It is clear, however, that without this technology, people will continue texting while driving. Dangerous accidents will result.

If you have been hurt by a man or woman texting while driving, then you need legal representation. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Jon Ostroff is a Pennsylvania accident attorney that has spent the past 20 years helping over 20,000 Pennsylvania accident victims… and Jon will know exactly what to do to help you.