Wireless Geekz

The United States Transportation Department recently presented a proposal to outlaw text messaging while driving by cross-state truck and bus drivers.  This regulatory action follows up on its public service program to mitigate distracted drivers that cause crashes.

The proposal would replace an interim ban put in place earlier in the year by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  The proposed ban applies to drivers of passenger buses and commercial trucks operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over ten thousand pounds.  As an indication of the scope of the issue, violators could face civil penalities and/or even criminal penalties.

The US Transportation Department reported that 5,870 people were killed and over a half million were injured in 2008 in crashes connected to distracted drivers.  They didn’t speculate how many of those accidents involved an electronic device.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reflects the Transportation Department statistics with an estimate that around eighty percent of crashes are caused by distracted drivers.  The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is sponsoring research to find out the extent of the distracted driver issue.  The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)   reports that driver inattention is a determining factor in many accidents, and mobile phone calls and texting are leading causes of driver distractions.

State legislatures have responded to the growing outrage over mobile phone use and sending text messages while driving by issuing  a variety of new laws, inclucing banning handheld cell phone use or texting by all drivers or restricting cell phone use or texting for a specific demographic, such as teens or school bus drivers.  The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that twenty states and Washington DC restrict drivers of all types of vehicles from texting while driving.  An additional nine states restricting texting by beginning drivers.  Most states are expected to implement the ban before too long.  But it is also believed that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are required.  The GHSA says it supports texting bans for all drivers, but has doubts about enforcement.

One company with a monitoring solution is Phone Beagle.  PhoneBeagle installs on Android and BlackBerry mobile phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log events.

The trucking and passenger bus industries support the texting prohibition, and many companies have explicit policies against texting when driving.  The government, industry and safety organizations all agree that driver distraction  caused bytexting is a menace to society, and deserves action.  Advocates for addressing the problem also include celebrity Oprah Winfrey.  

Without question there are many distractions interfering with a driver focusing on driving:  fiddling with the radio or a putting in tape or CD, talking to passengers, rubber necking, and of course, using mobile phones and sending text messages.  Navigational and other interactive devices also distract drivers.

As regulations and technology work to to address the issues a software package from  Phone Beagle is available to help deal with monitoring phone use.  Their software is installed on Android and BlackBerry cell phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log activity.