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9/28/2009
AAA Campaign Aims to Pass Texting While Driving Bans in All 50 States by 2013
Together with AAA Foundation Kicks Off Campaign with Heads Up Driving Week
AAA and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety are launching new legislative and communications campaigns to reduce distracted driving and improve safety on our roadways. AAA will work to pass laws banning text messaging by drivers in all 50 states by 2013, citing strong public support for the laws, the danger of distracted driving, and new research by the Automobile Club of Southern California showing the impact of California’s texting ban. AAA will join the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety to call on motorists to drive distraction-free for the week of October 5 - 11 as part of its inaugural Heads Up Driving Week: Try it for a week, do it for life.
“The new technologies that help us multitask in our everyday lives and increasingly popular social media sites present a hard-to-resist distraction,” said national AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. “Enacting texting bans for drivers in all 50 states can halt the spread of this dangerous practice among motorists nationwide, and is a key legislative priority for AAA in state capitols.”
Currently, 18 states and the District of Columbia have laws that address text messaging by all drivers. Two more states have laws that prohibit teens or other new drivers from texting while driving. Laws differ across the states and some have significant shortcomings, according to AAA. AAA is recommending that all text messaging bans include such aspects as:
- a broad definition of the device and activity being banned,
- apply only to moving vehicles,
- specify that searching for a phone number or dialing a cell phone are excluded from the ban,
- make the enforcement primary,
- specify that the device may not be confiscated,
- include exemptions for emergency vehicles and emergency situations, and
- include an escalating schedule of penalties.
In May 2007, Washington became the first state in the nation to pass a law banning text messaging while driving. The law took effect in January 2008. AAA anticipates legislation will be introduced during the 2010 legislative session to change the enforcement provision of the texting law from secondary to primary.
Recent high-profile texting crashes and a provocative PSA from the United Kingdom have brought the dangers of distracted driving, and texting while driving in particular, into the public spotlight. However, AAA Foundation research shows that approximately 1 in 5 U.S. drivers admit to texting while driving at least once in the last 30 days. Multiple surveys of the general public and AAA’s membership show that 80 to 90 percent of Americans support texting bans.
AAA study shows in-vehicle texting by drivers drops following ban
The AAA legislative push to enact texting while driving bans is supported by new research released today by the Auto Club of Southern California showing that the texting while driving ban implemented in California in January 2009 appears to be reducing texting by drivers. Prior to the California texting while driving ban, researchers observed 1.4 percent of drivers at any point in time in Orange County, Calif. were texting while driving. Following the law taking effect, just 0.4 percent of drivers were observed texting. This indicates that banning texting while driving can potentially change driving behavior of motorists, reduce dangerous distracted driving, and improve safety.
In Washington, statistics from the Washington State Patrol indicate a decline in handheld telecommunications device usage by drivers in our state as well. In 2008 there were 827 collisions where “driver operating a handheld telecommunications device” was a contributing factor in the crash, compared to 1,118 in 2007 and 1,246 in 2006.
The popularity of texting has grown quickly over the past four years. According to the wireless industry trade association, CTIA, the number of monthly texting messages reached 110 billion at the end of 2008, a more than 11-fold increase in three years. Studies have shown texting while driving to be an extremely dangerous distraction for drivers due to the extended time drivers spend not looking at the road.
AAA Foundation encourages drivers to participate in Heads-Up Driving Week
The AAA Foundation and AAA call on all drivers to pledge their participation in Heads Up Driving Week spanning Monday, Oct. 5 through Sunday, Oct. 11. “We are asking everyone to rethink their driving behavior and take the first step toward becoming distraction-free by trying it for a week and doing it for life,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. By participating, drivers vow to eliminate distractions behind the wheel and sign a pledge committing to distraction-free driving for Heads Up Driving Week and beyond. To sign the pledge, view 10 tips on how to eliminate distractions and learn the facts about distracted driving, visit AAAFoundation.org.
AAA Washington has been serving members and the traveling public since 1904. The organization provides a variety of exclusive benefits, including roadside assistance, discounts, maps and personalized trip planning, to its 980,000 members. In addition, its full-service travel and insurance agencies provide products and services for members and the public. Additional information is available through the company’s 26 offices in Washington and northern Idaho, at www.AAA.com, or by calling 1-800-562-2582.
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