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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Phoning while driving getting attention it deserves

I hope I have made it clear, starting last January, that I think travelers need to know all they can about a land-based safety issue: Distracted driving caused by talking or texting on a cell phone while behind the wheel. After all, more than two-thirds of all business travel isn't in the air -- it's on the ground.

Just after the New Year's holiday, I posted a report on this blog on the National Safety Council calling for a complete ban on using a phone, handheld or not, along with texting and other distracted-driver behavior. I wrote a column the first week of February supporting such a ban.

Since then, a groundswell has pushed the issue into the news time and time again. The Philadelphia City Council passed an ordinance in the spring prohibiting use of handheld phones while driving; New Jersey already had such a law, and many other jurisdictions have adopted such rules or are considering them. The Inquirer and others have editorialized on the issue, supporting more regulation. Reports of deadly commuter-train and car crashes caused by the distraction of texting have given the story legs, as we say in the news biz.

What's new: The U.S. Department of Transportation yesterday held its first widely publicized conference on the issue of distracted driving. Find an AP story from Washington on that here.   . The most detailed reporting on the topic has been done by The New York Times, which published its latest installment in its "Driven to Distraction" series today. It's long, and well worth reading. Find it here.
Posted by Tom BELDEN @ 11:52 AM  Permalink | 2 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:39 PM, 10/01/2009
    Holding a cell phone and talking isn't the distraction - its the actual talking part that is the distraction (esp since most people can't walk and chew gum at the same time). Banning the use of hand-held cell phones will only reduce the texting distraction, and only partially solves the public safety issue.
    — dankil13
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:16 PM, 10/01/2009
    I agree the bluetooths are just as dangerous. The texters dont care because the phone is on thier lap and they think the cops dont see it.
    — CamdenCountyReader


2 comments
About Tom Belden
Tom Belden has been reporting about Philadelphia International Airport and other air travel subjects for more than 20 years, writing columns for The Inquirer's Travel and Business sections. His reporting (with colleague Craig McCoy) on baggage handling problems in Philadelphia have been credited with helping to improve the system. His previous blog was called Road Warrior. He can reached at tbelden@phillynews.com.
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