carwrecks

Texas Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the Legislature’s plan to ban text messaging for all drivers.

Perry called the distracted driving legislation a “government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.” The veto came June 17. The law would have taken effect Sept. 1, 2011.

“The keys to dissuading drivers of all ages from texting while driving are information and education,” Perry said in his veto statement. He is campaigning for president, wooing voters on the right.

About a dozen bills addressing texting and driving were considered during the 2011 session.

Two new Texas distracted driving laws are in effect:

One banning teen drivers from using cell phones and text messaging devices;

the other prohibiting drivers from using handheld cell phones in school crossing zones.

Current prohibitions:

* Drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using wireless communications devices.

* Learners permit holders are prohibited from using handheld cell phones in the first six months of driving.

* School bus operators prohibited from using cell phones while driving if children are present.

* Drivers prohibited from using handheld devices in school crossing zones.

* Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Amarillo, Galveston, El Paso, Missouri City and Stephenville are among the Texas cities that have enacted local distracted driving laws.

Read the Texas statutes.

Text messaging and cell phone use while driving are bigger problems than five years ago, Texas motorists say. 85 of drivers interviewed said text messaging was worse, while 80 percent agreed that cell phone use had become a bigger problem than a half decade ago. (The Texas Transportation Institute interviewed 1,167 motorists at Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License Offices in fall 2010.) Supporters of a ban on handheld cell phone use while driving outnumber opponents by a two-to-one margin. Aggressive driving ranked with distracted driving as a danger cited by the drivers. (View a video about the Texas driver safety survey.)

Missouri City’s ban on texting while driving went into effect June 1, 2010. Law applies when vehicle is stopped. Fines up to $500. The city posted traffic signs stating: “No Texts Emails or Apps While Driving.”

Galveston has banned text messaging while driving within city limits. Fines up to $500. The City Council voted to outlaw texting for motorists on Jan. 14 and the ban went into effect immediately.

Source credit: http://handsfreeinfo.com/texas-cell-phone-laws-legislation

A new study shows that texting while driving basically doubles a driver’s reaction time and makes the driver less able to respond to sudden roadway dangers, but do people really realize the danger?

Bumper sticker evidence, or this case a window sticker on the back of an SUV in Sugar Land, Texas, suggests that we are getting the message.

According to a new study released by the Texas Transportation Institute, texting while driving basically doubles a driver’s reaction time and makes the driver less able to respond to sudden roadway dangers, if a vehicle were to make a sudden stop in front of them or if a child was to run across the road. 

This is the first published study in the U.S. using actual drivers, rather than simulators. Studies have been confined to simulators in the past for safety concerns.

Researchers studied 42 drivers between the ages of 16 and 54 on a test-track driving course in vehicles equipped with a flashing light and a monitoring system. To put the findings in context, drivers going 60 mph travel farther than the length of a football field in four seconds. (60 mph = 88 feet per second)

If you’re on a freeway where the speed limit is 60 mph in rush hour and a vehicle suddenly stops in front of you, that is not enough time to react if your eyes are glanced down at your phone.

Drivers in the study were more than 11 times more likely to miss the flashing light altogether when they were texting.  The study also found texting impaired the ability of drivers to maintain proper lane position and a constant speed.

Texting and driving has already been deemed dangerous, with 34 states adopting texting and driving bans. The Texas Legislature approved a texting ban in 2011, but Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the measure, calling it an “overreach” and a “government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.” Texas law does ban cellphone use in school zones and includes restrictions for drivers under the age of 18.

In 2009, nearly 5,500 people died and half a million were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver, according to figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Distraction-related fatalities represented 16 percent of overall traffic fatalities in 2009, the agency said. It is unclear how many of those fatalities can be blamed specifically on texting.

Source credit:  www.washingtonpost.com