The Obama administration will seek to ban text messaging by interstate bus drivers and truckers and push states to pass their own laws against driving cars while distracted.
“We are not going to break everyone of their bad habits — but we are going to raise awareness and sharpen the consequences,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
As a first step, LaHood said President Barack Obama signed an executive order banning all federal workers from texting while driving on government business, driving government vehicles or using government equipment.
The administration also will push to disqualify school bus drivers who are convicted of texting while driving from keeping their commercial driver’s licenses.
Researchers, safety groups, automakers and lawmakers gathered for a two day conference to discuss the perils of distracted driving, hearing sobering data from the government that underscored the safety threat as more motorists stay connected with cell phones and mobile devices.
The Transportation Department reported that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured last year in crashes connected to driver distraction, often involving mobile devices or cell phones. Driver distraction was involved in 16% of all fatal crashes in 2008 and was more prevalent among young drivers. The next step is to ban texting by automobile drivers.
