US calls for ban on in-car phone use ... even with Bluetooth
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 2:46 pm
The government's transportation safety experts recommended Tuesday to ban all American drivers from using portable electronic devices — including cell phones, even if you use a hands-free device.
The recommendation, which isn't binding but which is likely to influence the decisions of Congress and state legislatures in writing new safety laws, makes only two exceptions: You could still use GPS navigation devices, and you could use your cellphone in an emergency.
"No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life," Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference in Washington.
Safety advocates have long called for such a ban to reduce the phenomenon of distracted driving, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says killed 3,092 people in 2010. The HTSA reported that about 20 percent of all drivers and 50 percent of drivers 21 to 24 years old admit to having texted while driving.
Only 10 states ban handheld devices right now, and 35 ban texting while driving.
The recommendation comes following the NTSB's investigation of an August 2010 accident in Gray's Summit, Mo., involving a pickup truck, two school buses and several other vehicles.
The accident was blamed on the 19-year-old driver of the pickup, who sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes before the pileup, which killed two people and injured 38 others.
"That finding raises a red flag to all of us on the highways," Hersman said.
The NTSB recommendation wouldn't cover GPS devices, but — if it eventually becomes law — it would ban using your phone for any reason, even with a Bluetooth headset or speakers. The only exception would be to call 911 in an emergency.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/ ... -bluetooth
The recommendation, which isn't binding but which is likely to influence the decisions of Congress and state legislatures in writing new safety laws, makes only two exceptions: You could still use GPS navigation devices, and you could use your cellphone in an emergency.
"No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life," Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference in Washington.
Safety advocates have long called for such a ban to reduce the phenomenon of distracted driving, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says killed 3,092 people in 2010. The HTSA reported that about 20 percent of all drivers and 50 percent of drivers 21 to 24 years old admit to having texted while driving.
Only 10 states ban handheld devices right now, and 35 ban texting while driving.
The recommendation comes following the NTSB's investigation of an August 2010 accident in Gray's Summit, Mo., involving a pickup truck, two school buses and several other vehicles.
The accident was blamed on the 19-year-old driver of the pickup, who sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes before the pileup, which killed two people and injured 38 others.
"That finding raises a red flag to all of us on the highways," Hersman said.
The NTSB recommendation wouldn't cover GPS devices, but — if it eventually becomes law — it would ban using your phone for any reason, even with a Bluetooth headset or speakers. The only exception would be to call 911 in an emergency.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/ ... -bluetooth
