Attracted to the Distraction

Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, was home in Peoria a few weeks ago, when he heard about a 17 year old female who was killed when she drove off the road. Not really shocking news, but it was why she had the misfortune that got his attention. "It turns out she was texting while driving. We have all seen the footage of the bus driver who was talking and texting on two phones while driving.....the horrific commuter train crash last year in California involved an operator who was too busy texting to pay attention to what he should have been doing, as a result 25 people were killed and 135 were injured." And then Lahood let it be known what he would do if given the choice. "If it were up to me, I would ban drivers from texting," he said, "but" he added, "we've learned from our efforts to get people to wear seat belts and to persuade them not to drive drunk, that laws just aren't always enough, often you need to combine education with enforcement to get results."

So, again we are hearing about the distracted driver. Harmony knows this is a "hot button" issue and as laws stiffen and enforcement is stepped up the problem seems to be growing. How does this make you feel while you are driving? Thirty-five percent of auto drivers say they feel less safe than they did five years ago. This according to the second annual 2009 Traffic Safety Culture Index released July 28 by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "Over the past 25 years, motor vehicle crashes have permanently, violently and tragically ended the lives of 1 million Americans, killing more of our children, teens and young adults than any other single cause." Said AAA foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. "That's one death every 13 minutes."

The following are some key issues from the 2009 Traffic Safety Culture Index:

• When asked about perceived threats to their safety:
o 90% rated people driving after drinking alcohol as a very serious threat to their safety.
o 87% rated drivers text messaging or emailing as a very serious threat.
o 79% rated drivers not paying attention as a very serious threat.
o 70% rated aggressive driving as a very serious threat.
o 58% rated drivers talking on cell phones as a very serious threat.
o 56% rated speeding as a very serious threat.

• When asked how acceptable they considered it to be for a driver to engage in various behaviors while driving, large majorities rated the behaviors as unacceptable, even after having already admitted to doing those things themselves. For example:
o 95% of drivers said that text messaging while driving was completely or
somewhat unacceptable; 18% of those same drivers admitted having read or sent a text message or email while driving in the past month.
o 94% rated running red lights as unacceptable; 26% of those same drivers admitted having run a red light when they could have stopped safely.
o 91% rated tailgating as unacceptable; 24% of those same drivers admitted having tailgated another driver when they could have backed off.
o 95% rated driving 15 mph over the speed limit on a residential street as unacceptable; 21% of those same drivers admitted having done this.
o 71% rated talking on a hand held cell phone while driving as unacceptable, yet 30% of those same drivers reported doing this, and another 27% reported using a hands-free phone, which studies have shown is no safer.
o 63% rated driving 15 mph over the speed limit on a freeway as unacceptable; 28% of those same drivers reported having done this.

Texting while driving is currently banned in 14 states and everyday new legislation is being drawn up to combat the issue. Studies show this is far more dangerous than talking on a phone or driving drunk.

Harmony advocates the regulation on the use of hand held technology as well as strict enforcement. Loss of life IS NOT... lol!

Thanks for reading and remember let your hands do the driving and nothing more.