N. Y. road signs promote driver ‘ texting zones’
NEW YORK — Can’t wait to respond to the latest text from your BFF? NBD— no big deal. At least, that’s true if you’re driving through New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week announced measures aimed at drivers haunted by the sound of unanswered cellphone rings and dings.
New highway signs will say: “It can wait: Text stop 5 miles.” Drivers won’t be steered to new pullout spots; the so- called texting zones will be in existing rest stops and parking areas. But Cuomo, who recently stiffened penalties for distracted driving, said the signs will help change motorists’ behavior by reminding them that relief from the digital wilderness is a few minutes down the road.
“You can come up with creative ways to remind people and make it easy for people,” Cuomo said Mone-lectronic day as he announced about 300 new signs.
One federal study says that in 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared with 3,267 in 2010.
Statistics in studies differ, but one thing is clear: The number of people using mobile devices while driving is increasing. Cuomo attributed the shift to more young people who grow up “attached, affixed to the device.” “They start driving, and it’s a dangerous combination,” said Cuomo, who acknowledged that it could be a hard sell getting young drivers to wait 5 miles — or five minutes — until they reach a rest stop to look at the incoming text messages.
“Five minutes really won’t make a difference. ... It can wait,” he said.