Accident & Injury Law in Texas

Posts Tagged ‘cell phone’

Austin City Council unanimously passed a ban last week on text messaging while driving, though a few speakers raised concerns that the ban  is too broad and urged council members to spend more time refining it.

The ban was supposed to take effect November 2; instead, it will take effect January 1. Council Member Mike Martinez suggested the delay, saying it will give the public and city commissions more time to review and suggest tweaks to the ordinance. He also asked city staffers to use the time to conduct an educational campaign about the ban.

Drivers will still be able to text when their vehicle is stopped. The ordinance will prohibit writing, sending or viewing electronic messages on a cell phone, BlackBerry, iPhone or any wireless communication device while driving. Electronic messages include text messages, e-mails, posts on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and “a command or request to access an Internet site.”

The ordinance exempts placing a phone call, using a navigation system or a wireless device permanently installed in a vehicle and texting in emergency situations. It also exempts public safety personnel who use wireless, devices while on duty. Drivers could still use a voice-activated mode on their wireless devices to send messages.

Violations will be Class C misdemeanors, which carry a fine of up to $500 and can be appealed in Municipal Court. The penalty could be increased if a driver is caught engaging in another dangerous driving behavior, such as speeding.

Debbie Russell of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union questioned why public safety employees would be exempt, saying texting while driving poses the same risks for them. She added that the ban could be tough to enforce and may lead to intrusive searches of wireless devices as police or prosecutors gather evidence against violators.

New legislation would spur states to outlaw text messaging while driving, considered a growing threat in a nation reluctant to put down its cell phones and hand-held devices even behind the wheel, the Obama administration said. The Transportation Department reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, including drivers talking on cell phones and texting.

While it is well known that driving while using cell phones can be dangerous, researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wanted to conduct a study in 2003 to assess the risk.

However, the agency did not approve of the study because they feared it would anger the Congress.  Not only that, but senior government officials chose not to make research that recommended that cell phones not be used while driving public, until today.

Two consumer advocacy groups filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for the documents and The New York Times published the documents on their website.

Dr. Jeffrey Runge, the former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the Congress was telling his agency to not lobby states and to only gather safety information.  Runge decided not to publish the research in order to avoid angering the Congress.  Many don’t agree with Runge’s logic because no matter who it upsets, the information could save lives.

Clarence Ditlow, the director of the Center for Auto Safety, believes that it could be as dangerous as drunk driving.  Other information that has been withheld includes a draft letter speaking about how hands-free laws may not make calling and driving any safer because the actual conversation is what distracts drivers, not holding the phone.  This information was petitioned for as well and the Los Angeles Times published it last year.

In 2002, the highway safety researchers estimated that 955 deaths and 240,000 accidents were caused by cell phone use in vehicles.  Austin City Council Member Mike Martinez wants texting and driving to be illegal and for hands-free devices to be required if drivers are using their cell phone.

Research shows that motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers  and are as likely to cause as accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.  The research concluded that the use of cell phones has contributed to a large amount of accidents and fatalities and therefore they recommend that drivers avoid using their phones in anyway unless it is an emergency.

Runge explains that he didn’t publish any of this because Congress had told him not to use its research to lobby states and he could lose the agency their financing.  Others said they didn’t publish the data because it was inconclusive and incomplete.  Runge further defends his decision saying that he feels that the issue is of the utmost importance and needs public attention.  He also says that he wanted to send the research to governors to sway them to pass hands-free laws.  However, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says he was unaware of anything of the sort going on and that the research never reached his desk.

Several states, including California and New York, have introduced laws against talking on a cell phone while driving, but they still allow the use of hands-free devices, such as Bluetooth headsets.  However, studies have shown that hands-free devices may not help.  It appears that it is the distraction of dialing or talking that is dangerous, rather thean the act of taking a hand off the wheel.

A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2006 found that dialing or talking on the phone was the cause in 7 percent of crashes and near-crashes.  For the study, drivers had onboard “black boxes” that recorded their actions.

Last year, 41,059 people died in traffic accidents.

Aegis Mobility, a Canadian software company, announced this month that it has developed software called DriveAssist that will detect whether a cell phone is moving at car speeds.  When that happens, the software will alert the cellular network, telling it to hold calls and text messages until he drive is over.

The software doesn’t completely block incoming calls.  Callers will hear a message saying the person they’re calling appears to be driving.  They can hit a button to leave an emergency voice mail, which is put through immediately.

Aegis’ software will work on phones with Windows Mobile software or Symbian software (used in phones from Nokia and Ericsson).  It uses the phone’s global positioning system chip to detect motion, aided by the cell-tower signal.  To work, the software has to be supported by the cellular carrier and can be managed remotely through a web site.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. said it plans to offer a discount of up to 3 to 10 percent on family policies for people who use DriveAssist.