Page 8 July 5, 2012 MANHATTAN BEACH SUN Department of Transportation provides ‘Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving’ Provided by shopautoweek.com “Distracted driving is an epidemic. driving and provide good enforcement of reduce the amount of texting and driving JunE 7, 2012 While we’ve made progress in the past those laws in these areas. Tickets and fines were is- U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray three years by raising awareness about this As of June 8, 39 states have bans on sued. During the press briefing, LaHood LaHood released the Department of risky behavior, the simple fact is people texting while driving, and 10 states have said an expansion of these pilot projects Transportation’s “Blueprint for Ending are continuing to be killed and injured outlawed the use of handheld devices is underway and will be focused on the Distracted Driving” during a press briefing -- and we can put an end to it,” LaHood while driving altogether. The Depart- areas of Sacramento, Calif., and the state Thursday. The plan, which builds on three explained. ment of Transportation would like to see of Delaware. years of research and initiatives to reduce The plan focuses on four main recommen- the remaining 11 states enact legislation The Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety distracted driving, details what needs to dations to Congress, states and individuals banning texting. Act of 2012 currently includes $39 mil- be done to further reduce traffic fatalities and is available for download at www. Pilot projects publicizing and enforc- lion in grants to be awarded to states that caused specifically by texting or talking distraction.gov. Here are the main points: ing these bans in Hartford, Conn., and have enacted distracted-driving legislation on a handheld cell phone while driving. Enact tough laws against distracted Syracuse, N.Y., proved beneficial and did in order to help publicize and enforce the laws. Provided this element of the legislation is not removed before it is ap- proved, these dollars could go a long way toward helping a larger percentage of the U.S. population see a greater reduction in distracted-driving incidents and fatalities. Provide better education for young people about the dangers of distracted driving Part of the blueprint discusses the im- portance of adding data about distracted driving to the standardized driver’s training curriculum. In order to get teens involved in spreading the antitexting word, the Department of Transportation launched a design challenge. Teens have been charged with designing an icon that could be shared via social media and become known as a symbol of safe driving habits. Address safety of developing technology This portion of the plan urges manu- facturers to be cautious when designing in-car technology and to take distraction into account. This applies to developers of other handheld devices, too, as many drivers have become accustomed to bringing their technology with them into the car. A complete list of guidelines for manufacturers was rolled out as Phase I of transforming how vehicle manufacturers approach distracted driving. Phase II will further address other handheld devices but has not been released yet. Get involved Enjoy red light three years ago and was hit by-During the press briefing, LaHood introduced a woman whose life had beeninstantly changed by a distracted driver.She described how she was stopped at a your was severe and caused the innocent driver tosomeone who had been texting. The impact summer work on her rehabilitation, she was forcedsuffer brain and spinal-cord injuries amongothers. She spent every day of the yearfollowing the accident in physical therapytrying to recover. Because she needed to to miss out on much of her high-school- aged son’s life. She felt horrible about this as she is her son’s only parent. Her message was not only that people should not text and drive, but that everyone should let their loved ones know how much they are cared about and needed so that they think twice before texting too. The blueprint encourages parents to talk to teens and suggests community members get involved in enacting legislation to stop distracted driving. Involvement is important because, when all is said and done, the blueprint is noth- ing more than a recommendation and does not mandate safer behaviors. • A dog gAve birth to puppies neAr the roAdAnd wAs cited for littering.
Manhattan 7.5.12 update
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