Rosenworcel, Wireless Carriers Rally to Raise Anti-Distracted Driving Awareness
The FCC is “totally in and invested” in efforts to prevent distracted driving caused by the use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) like smartphones, said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday at a National Organizations for Youth Safety-led rally for the “It Can Wait” anti-texting campaign. The National Safety Council said 100,000 car crashes are caused by distracted driving. That’s an “epidemic” that results in completely preventable deaths and injuries that can be prevented by education and advocacy efforts, Rosenworcel said. The FCC has led its own anti-texting education efforts directed at elementary, middle and high school students, along with sponsoring a distracted-driving technology event in April (CD April 22 p10), she said. Rosenworcel said she’s also invested in preventing distracted-driving deaths as the mother of two small children. “I never want to see them at risk because someone behind the wheel thinks that paying attention to a text is more important to paying attention to the road,” she said.
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About 2.8 million people have pledged to stop texting while driving since the “It Can Wait” campaign began in 2009, with more than 1.5 million taking the pledge in the last year, said Charlene Lake, AT&T senior vice president-public affairs. AT&T and State Farm are co-sponsors of the “It Can Wait” campaign, which also has support from the other three top U.S. wireless carriers -- Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile US -- and other advocacy groups. The campaign’s data said one in three people who have heard its message have changed their driving habits, Lake said. But further education is also needed, with one-on-one conversations being particularly effective, she said.
AT&T took the lead in sponsoring the campaign -- which drew praise from Michael Miess, a T-Mobile vice president. “We're all competitors in the wireless business,” he said. “It’s a very competitive business -- every day we're trying to get that market share. But the one thing we all agree on is that we've got to set these competitive issues aside and [provide] support against texting and making sure that all of our family, friends and associates never text while driving.” Saving lives is far more important than market share, said Bill Barloon, Sprint vice president-state and federal legislative affairs. Verizon Wireless is also proud to join its competitors in sponsoring the campaign, said a spokeswoman. The carrier has also pushed for laws to combat distracted driving, she said.
At present, 41 states and Washington, D.C., have laws that ban texting while driving, said Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. The Department of Transportation began its own push against distracted driving under then-Secretary Ray LaHood, and current Secretary Anthony Foxx “is not letting up” on that push, Mendez said. DOT recommends that all U.S. jurisdictions ban non-emergency handheld use of PEDs by drivers, but it “will take more than changing laws” to fix distracted driving, said Christopher Hart, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. Education targeted at parents and youth about the risks of distracted driving is especially important because teen drivers are behind the wheel in 20 percent of all car crashes, although they make up only 7 percent of U.S. drivers, Hart said.
The Consumer Electronics Association said in a news release that it also supports the “It Can Wait” campaign’s awareness drive. “No message is so urgent that it is worth risking your life or the lives of others,” said CEA President Gary Shapiro in the news release. CEA has actively supported anti-texting legislation, CEA said (http://bit.ly/16j27i8).