Teaching your teenage child to drive is an emotionally fraught yet important time. You can instill good driving habits that will see them through the couple of decades we have left before robotic flying cars dominate the market, then eventually enslave us. Or you can set a bad example by whipping out your phone while teaching the finer points of highway merging. Guess which one most American parents choose? [More]
distracted driving
DOT & Disney Team Up To Fight Distracted Driving, Promote New Movie
By 6.15.11
The Department of Transportation’s campaign against distracted driving is becoming animated. Literally. [More]
LaHood Highlights Distracted Driving Risks, Launches Guide
By 3.7.11
Surrounded by family members of distracted driving victims, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced a new pamphlet designed to highlight the “deadly epidemic” of inattentive driving. Among those joining LaHood in his presentation at Consumers Union was Melissa Dinges, whose sister, Angelina, was walking with two of her friends along a pedestrian walkway just three houses away from her home in California when she was hit from behind by a truck driven by an 18-year-old woman. The driver had been typing a text message before the accident. Angelina’s two friends survived, but sadly, she did not. [More]
Report: Drowsy Driving Causes 17% Of Crashes
By 11.8.10
A new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety may keep you up at night — and that could be a good thing. According to the report, 41% of drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel, and drowsy driving accounts for about 17% of all crashes, and 2% of vehicular fatalities. [More]
Advice: Do Not Shave Your Privates While Driving
By 3.8.10
Much is said about distracted driving. Don’t text, don’t talk on the phone, don’t eat soup. Apparently nobody bothered to tell one Florida woman not to shave her privates while driving. Clearly, this was our mistake. [More]
New Nonprofit Created To Make Drivers Put The Damn Phone Down
By 1.14.10
What would it take to get you to put the phone down while you’re driving? FocusDriven is an advocacy group for the victims of accidents caused by distracted drivers, and their families. The group hopes to do for distracted driving what Mothers Against Drunk Driving was able to do for drunk driving–raising awareness that it’s a really stupid thing that can hurt innocent people you don’t know. [More]
3 Cellphone Apps To Block Texting While Driving
By 10.30.09
We’ve been talking about the dangers of texting while driving for a while, and if you’ve been paying attention, you know it’s no joke: texting is 23 times more distracting than talking on a phone. In spite of this, most people do it anyway. If you just can’t help yourself, here are three apps that will limit your ability to text while driving.
Federal Employees Banned From Texting While Driving
By 10.2.09
An executive order issued this week bans federal employees from texting while driving when using government vehicles or phones, or while on government business. Given the safety risks of texting while driving, we think this was a good move, and hope that it extends to the general population. Take our poll and tell us what you think, inside.
