Distracted driving a "menace to society"

On USA Today. Excerpt:

The panel of government officials, safety advocates, researchers and lawmakers hoped to develop a consensus on the roadway hazards and hear warnings from young adults who caused car accidents because they were texting while driving.

The new data underscored the major problem of distractions involving young drivers. The greatest proportion of distracted drivers were those age 20 and under. Sixteen percent of all under-20 drivers involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving, the government said.

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws making texting while driving illegal and seven states and the District have banned driving while talking on a handheld cellphone, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Many safety groups have urged a nationwide ban on texting and on using handheld mobile devices while behind the wheel.

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Read Bob Barr's opinion in the AJC here.

Article on Alan Brown in USAToday

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Utah tackles texting while driving

Read (or listen) to article here on NPR.

Car Crashes, Travel Deaths, Prevented by Technology

Study Reveals High-Tech Safety Features Could Prevent or Lessen the Severity of Nearly Two Million Accidents a Year.

Read the article: ABC News: New Technology Successful in Reducing Severity of Car Crashes

Watch the VIDEO: ABC News - Highway Safety Exclusive

Is texting PSA too graphic?

Photo ©2009 MSNBC

A video about teens texting that was originally produced in Wales appeared on MSNBC's Today show September 1, 2009.

READ THE ARTICLE: MSNBC's Today Show

WATCH THE VIDEO: MSNBC's Today Show commentary

“The messages contained in the film are as relevant to the people of Tennessee as they are to the residents [of Wales],” he said on the department’s Web site. “Texting and driving can have tragic consequences, and the more this film is viewed, the better.”

Required viewing?

Appearing on TODAY Tuesday, noted ad executive Donny Deutsch said he believes the ad may be the most powerful ever — and agreed that it needs to be required viewing.

“I will show this to every kid I know, and I salute the police department,” Deutsch told TODAY’s Ann Curry. “I would really implore various local stations: Run this stuff, put this on the air. It will help.”

Ford's MyKey to safety for teen drivers controls speed, stereo

Read full article here.