| Jan 26 |
New national ban on bus, diesel truck texting fights distracted driving car crash crush
After all, they’re getting paid to drive, aren’t they? And, oh yes: If they stop texting, they just might save lives. In fact, they definitely will, since distracted drivers who text or talk by cell phones kill thousands of Americans each year. So far 20 states have put the brakes on such absurd behavior, with many more states mulling a texting-while-driving ban. And now the DOT has made it illegal — coast to coast — for diesel truck and bus drivers, too. |
Like a car on freshly-inflated tires, the national momentum to outlaw texting while driving keeps on rolling. Today the U.S. Department of Transportation placed an immediate ban on interstate commercial bus and diesel truck drivers fidgeting with texting gadgets when they should be paying full attention to the road.
| Jan 13 |
FocusDriven to fight distracted driver car accident carnage
About 6,000 Americans died last year due to distracted drivers, many of whom were texting or calling by cell phone when they caused such tragedies. Longtime Texas personal injury law firm Jim S. Adler & Associates strongly supports measures to curb distracted driving and spare thousands of Americans and their families the wrenching loss of a distracted driver car accident. |
A woman in Grapevine, Texas, whose mother was killed by | Sep 01 |
Car accident insurer’s study shows 4 in 5 favor ban on texting while driving
Now a new study shows that every other state could fall in line — provided its legislators listen to the voters who elected them, and not cell phone lobbyists. In a national survey held last month by Nationwide Insurance, 80 per cent of adult Americans favored a legal ban on texting while driving. Even more encouraging is that two-thirds of respondents favor laws restricting cell phone calls while driving, with 57 per cent even including hands-free phones in such proposals. A Nationwide official called this a “groundswell of momentum on banning texting” while driving. So far, 17 states and the District of Columbia have such laws. |
The “hang up and drive” movement is gaining momentum. With distracted drivers killing and injuring thousands, the feds are holding a summit on the issue this month, and Illinois has joined the ranks of states which ban texting while driving.| Mar 24 |
‘Zombie’ callers, texters are accidents waiting to happenYou know cell phones are a menace to society when they even start steering TV plots — sometimes twice in the same episode. That was the case with this week’s Desperate Housewives on ABC, when two major events were badly derailed simply because a person unwisely if not recklessly used a cell phone. One such cell phone accident occurred at episode’s end when Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) was fleeing her maniacal husband. She’d escaped his clutches and was in her car, which she frantically raced down Wisteria Lane while — perhaps by force of habit — she looked down to dial a number on her cell phone. Now, as smart drivers know, taking your eyes off the road even momentarily can be dangerous, if not deadly. Edie learned this lesson — too late. When a pedestrian appeared whom she belatedly noticed, she swerved her rushing car into a light pole, and at episode’s end it was suggested she was dead. Now, how important was it to make a phone call while driving? Important enough to kill someone, including yourself? |
| Feb 06 |
To skirt cell phone accidents, Selena Gomez will hang up and drive
Selena has vowed to hang up and drive — at least, when she gets her license. “Don’t do a thousand things in your car!” Selena told People magazine. “In the car, just focus on what you need to be doing.” And that means driving. |
Actress Selena Gomez is a smart girl who’s onto something — something even more vital than courting the tweens who could push her past Hannah Montana’s Miley Cyrus as the Disney Channel’s next megastar. In fact, it’s something that could save Selena’s life — by preventing a car accident.| Nov 05 |
Progress is slow, but cell phone accidents take hits
In Texas alone this week, some progress has been seen in communities around Houston, as well as in the capital city of Austin. Austin’s public safety task force this week passed a resolution directing Austin City Council to have its city manager develop regulations to prohibit text-messaging while driving a car. The city manager and his staff are expected to create such a proposal and give it to city council members for consideration. |
Now that many people have been killed or injured due to cell phone accidents — killed by drivers being distracted while calling or texting — the inevitable but gallingly slow process of legislatively addressing the problem is proceeding.