The way forward: better technology, tougher laws
Though drivers engage in many habits that draw their attention from the road ahead, cellphone use and distractions caused by the dashboard control systems of automobiles are among the most serious, researchers say.
“Our cars are starting to look more like cockpits,” said Deborah Hersman, president of the National Safety Council.
As with many issues, the first step is recognizing the scope of the problem. Many states lack uniform, consistent incident reports that reflect the types of distractions that cause crashes. In a 2017 report, the National Safety Council found 26 states did not differentiate how people used their handheld phones, whether for talking or texting or something else. Only three had instructions where a police officer could note someone was distracted by a car’s dashboard entertainment system.
“Traffic safety professionals and organizations go where the data tell us to go, but we cannot concentrate our efforts or dedicate the right amount of resources if the data are incomplete,” researchers wrote in the report.
Texas changed its reporting system in 2015 to separate cellphone use into talking, texting or “other,” such as playing music or using a navigation app. The state does not track the use of handsfree devices — which officials say remain a distraction, albeit a lesser one — or if someone was distracted by a passenger or the car’s on-board entertainment system.
The same technology that makes having information and communication at our fingertips possible, however, could play a role in preventing it, along with education and enforcement of sensible laws. Here are some of the steps automakers, drivers, police and lawmakers are taking:
• Phones now have “do not disturb” functions that encourage people to put them down while driving.
• Wireless carriers, along with law enforcement and transportation agencies, aggressively run public service campaigns warning of the dangers of cellphone use while driving.
• Car makers are opening onboard synching to more devices so people will be less likely to pick up their phones. Many also are developing their own apps to prohibit — or at least discourage — phone use while driving.
• Vehicles for years have been equipped with controls on the steering wheel so drivers can avoid reaching to the dashboard to change stereo volumes or music options.
• Lacking state laws, about 100 municipalities in Texas have prohibited handheld phone use within their city limits. Those laws, however, have been criticized by state officials, who may strip them of the authority during the upcoming legislative session. State leaders, notably Gov. Greg Abbott, have said the various city bans create confusion and are pushing for a state standard sure to be less proscriptive than many city rules.
• Police in some communities use commercial trucks or even their own garbage and public works vehicles to spot drivers using their phones. The higher vantage point allows them to look down into vehicles and radio ahead to officers who can pull drivers over and issue tickets.
• San Antonio officials sponsored a safe driving contest in which drivers could download an app and, based on the feedback of safe driving habits the app collected, win prizes for being the city’s safest driver. It was modeled after campaigns in Boston and Seattle, where sponsors reported at least 30 percent decreases in people driving distracted or braking suddenly.
• Sensing it could be a legal liability for them, companies and local governments are targeting their employees aggressively with safety campaigns. Houston’s Spectra Energy cut its preventable crashes in half from 2009 to 2014 with an education campaign focused on workers, according to a National Safety Council report.
“Our cars are starting to look like cockpits,” says Deborah Hersman, president of the National Safety Council.