FCC, DOT team up for high-tech cure to distracted driving
Network World - The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Transportation are teaming up to develop what they called high-tech solutions to the growing problem of distracted or inattentive drivers.
The DOT and FCC said they will set up a working group to evaluate technology-based answers to the distracted driving problem and will improve outreach efforts to educate the public about the dangers of texting or talking on cell phones while driving, and other distracting behavior that can lead to deadly accidents, the agencies stated.
(Network World Extra: Seven advanced car technologies the government wants now)
Research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed that nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. On any given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a handheld cell phone.
“Across the board, federal researchers who have directly observed drivers of all ages found that more and more people are using a variety of handheld devices while driving -- not just cell phones, but also iPods, video games, Blackberrys and GPS systems. In particular, cell phone use for talking and texting is now more prevalent on our nation's roads, rail systems and waterways, carrying a dangerous potential for accidents,” the NHTSA stated.
Cell phones and texting are now the primary means of communication for many people, especially young adults. NHTSA’s research shows that the worst offenders are the youngest drivers: men and women under 20 years of age, the NHTSA stated.
“We now know that the worst offenders are the youngest, least experienced drivers,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a speech recently. “Unfortunately though, the problem doesn't end there. Distracted driving occurs across all age groups and all modes of transportation, from cars to buses and trucks to trains. We must work together to find solutions that will prevent crashes caused by driver distraction.”
In a recent speech, LaHood noted a number of actions the DOT is undertaking in the areas it can most change quickly: Make permanent restrictions on the use of cell phones and other electronic devices in rail operations; Ban text messaging altogether, and restrict the use of cell phones by truck and interstate bus operators; Disqualify school bus drivers convicted of texting while driving, from maintaining their commercial driver's licenses.
He also called on state and local governments to work with to reduce fatalities and crashes by making distracted driving part of their state highway plans, and by passing state and local laws against distracted driving in all types of vehicles—especially school buses.



- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- Expert Guide to Secure Your Active Directory
- Layered security is the way to go when it comes to protecting Active Directory. This expert e-guide explains the best method to use...
- ESG Lab Validation Report: HP Data Protector & Deduplication Solutions
- Many organizations have deployed disk-to-disk backup technologies to improve the speed and reliability of their backup and disaster recovery operations. A growing number...
- Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
- As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
- Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
- Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
- Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
- Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring... All Security White Papers
- Live Webcast
Playing Defense: Staying on Top of Your Disaster Recovery Game - When it comes to disaster recovery, rapidly growing data volumes, distributed computing models, and new technologies all combine to present an ever-changing playing...
- Virtualization KnowledgeVault
- The resources in this Virtualization KnowledgeVault provide expert advice. You don't have to go it alone - take advantage of all the assets...
- Introduction to VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5
- Traditional disaster recovery solutions are often too expensive, complex and unreliable to meet business requirements. As a result, IT departments are hesitant to...
- The Top Ten Secrets to Avoiding SAN Performance Problems
- Maintaining peak performance while simultaneously addressing the root cause of SAN errors is challenging. Learn the most common SAN problems and explore new...
- Deduplication Without Compromise
- Go inside Quantum's scalable, high-performance, multi-protocol new DXi deduplication appliances, designed to make backup much more effective. Discover how the new future-proof DXi6700...
- Director of Disk Products Discusses DXi6700
- Discover how the new DXi 6700 series of deduplication appliances provide investment protection and a future-proof feature set, all while delivering fast, scalable,... All Security Webcasts