Paula F. Downey
President's Message: Texting while Driving
AAA Urges Drivers—And Legislators—to Stay Focused
IF YOU'RE GOING...
Most people have heard the message that drinking and driving costs lives—more than 11,000 in the United States last year, one every 45 minutes. But there's another road menace that can be just as deadly: distracted driving.
Texting while driving is particularly hazardous, and you don't have to look far to see its devastating consequences. In 2008, a commuter train crashed in Southern California, killing 25 people and injuring 135 others. The cause? The operator was texting on a cell phone. And distraction–related crashes aren't limited to California. They're claiming lives across the nation. In Peoria, Ill., a 17–year–old high school student was killed when she drove off the road while texting friends.
Research from AAA shows that people fear drivers who are texting almost as much as they fear drivers who are drunk, yet a shocking number of these same people admit to sending text messages or email when they themselves are behind the wheel. In the AAA study, 95 percent of respondents said text messaging while driving was somewhat or completely unacceptable, yet 21 percent of those polled also owned up to doing it themselves.
AAA traffic safety experts and the U.S. Department of Transportation are working to address the dangers of distracted driving. This year, we'd like to see all 50 states pass laws to ban texting while driving. With support from AAA, Utah and California have already enacted such laws, and we're backing a ban in Nevada. These efforts are a continuation of our decades–long involvement in research, education, and advocacy related to distracted driving.
While we believe tougher laws will help, they cannot replace personal responsibility. Last October, AAA launched a Heads Up campaign encouraging everyone to drive distraction free for one week. But we don't want you to limit your efforts to a single week. Please make it an everyday habit to drive without distractions.
Check out the suggestions below in Good Directions to learn how you can become a better, safer driver.
Good Directions
TOOLS TO POLISH YOUR DRIVING SKILLS
Here are some AAA resources you can use at home to keep yourself focused and expert behind the wheel.
- DriveSharp, a gamelike computer program for brain fitness, is clinically proven to help drivers cut crash risk by as much as 50 percent.
- Our online Mature Driver course bolsters skills—and can help drivers over 50 in California and over 55 in Utah and Nevada get an insurance discount.
- The Roadwise Review CD–ROM helps you monitor your "driving health." See more programs for mature drivers at AAA.com/seniordrivers.
- The TeenSmart driver safety course on DVD qualifies teenagers for a new–driver insurance discount with AAA. For more information, visit AAA.com/teensdrive.
- I Drive Safely offers online defensive driving and traffic school courses.
To learn more about these courses, visit AAA.com/drivingtips.
SO TELL US
Email us at opinion@viamagazine.com to let us know which of these distracted driving behaviors you see most often:
- Texting or talking on a handheld phone
- Eating or drinking
- Putting on makeup, shaving, combing hair
- Other (please specify)
Photography by Anne Hamersky
This article was first published in January 2010. Some facts may have aged gracelessly. Please call ahead to verify information.
