Sharon Montgomery reports on Texas texting-while-driving study

Sharon Montgomery writes:

The Texas Transportation Institute - Center for Transportation Safety recently reported their results of "An Investigation of the Effects of Reading & Writing Text-Based Messages While Driving." This study improved on previous, similar studies by putting subjects in instrumented vehicles on a straight, one-mile course instead of in driving simulators. The subjects ranged in age from 16 to 54, were pretty evenly divided between male and female and between users of touch-screen or raised-key devices. The Executive Summary states that, "Compared to the control condition, reading and writing text messages led to a significant delay in response time, an increase in the number of missed response events, an overall reduction in speed, an increase in the standard deviation of speed on the open roadway sections, an increase in the standard deviation of lane position on the open roadway sections, a reduction in writing and reading rates, and a reduction in the number of glances to the forward roadway." Also, "...the efficiency of both the texting and driving tasks are dramatically reduced." http://tti.tamu.edu/group/cts/texting-and-driving/

AAA has educated their service truck drivers on this danger and many signed a pledge not to text while driving.

AAA's Home & Away magazine for Nov./Dec. asks victims and offenders of texting crashes to send their stories to Home & Away, 90 E. Wilson Bridge Rd., Worthington, OH 43085 or AAA.com/facebook. They will put as many stories as possible into future issues.

AAA clubs in a number of Ohio cities have put up billboards with 1-855-BAN-TEXT. AAA staff answer the calls and route them to the caller's state senator or to www.aaa.com/NoText which allows the caller to e-mail his senator. They got 366 calls the first week.

Apple's new iPhone 4S is out now and allows texting by voice activation so drivers can go ahead and create dangerous mental distraction while still being legal in many of the cities or states that "ban" (in reality, create some restrictions on) texting while driving.

The research continues to mount, the advocacy continues to heat up, and technology continues to exacerbate the danger.

A toy "cell phone" package says ages 6 months and up. We introduce this obsession in infancy, model and promote it for 16 years, issue a driver's license, then expect drivers to exercise self-control and not take the obsession into the driver's seat. Amazing!

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Sharon Montgomery Reports On DWT

Sharon Montgomery writes:

No news at the statehouse: HB 99 is still below the line on the House calendar, in the list of bills recommended by their committees but not scheduled for a vote. SB 35 & SB154 have not been scheduled for hearings.


Today is the beginning of the National Safety Council's Safety Month. The theme for the week of June 26 is "On the Road, Off the Phone." This would be a good time for us to write letters to the editor of our papers and address our city councils alerting the public to this safety week and the reason for it, and maybe urging our local governments to conduct or step up education and enforcement actions, like the recently-concluded "Click it or Ticket" campaign.


Even the cities without specific texting laws are likely to have some sort of generic "inattention" law that could be made more effective with more education and enforcement. You can get some good talking points for the need for this focus at www.nsc.org/Pages/JuneisNationalSafetyMonth.aspx and of course can also use the reasons you personally are involved in this advocacy.


Council members and law enforcement personnel on this list: I hope we can count on you to try to make something happen in your city. Thanks.


I said in my last message I would share some other news when I got one other piece of information about it. I have that information now. Two court cases on DWT were pending at the time in which the prosecutor was trying to go beyond vehicular manslaughter to vehicular homicide. In one of them, news reports said the defense lawyer was apparently trying to discount the texting issue by saying the offender hadn't been texting at the actual moment of the crash. I sent that prosecutor the summaries of two studies showing that the distraction lasts after the "phone call" has ended. The mother of the victim in the other case asked me to send that research to their prosecutor, which I did.


That other case has now concluded and sadly--as I understand it--the prosecutor did not feel the judge would be influenced by that research so did not use it. To my knowledge, the first case I referred to above has not yet gone to trial.


I am deeply disturbed that we have missed a chance to make this point within the legal system. Judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and drivers desperately need to know of this residual distraction. If we are limited to appropriate charges & penalties for only those crashes where the offender was actually in the act of texting (e-mailing, phoning, etc.) at the moment of impact, far too many offenders will not be held sufficiently accountable for the harm they cause, *and* the deterring benefit of stiff penalties will be lost.

To end on a good note: I attended a day-long seminar for records managers recently. The topic was records management implications of electronic communications. One of the two speakers, who is a nationally-recognized expert and leader in this subject, said this subject cannot be separated from the use of mobile communication devices. One of her "best practices" topics is effective employer policies for acceptable employee use of e-communication tools. She devoted a fair amount of time to the dangers of using MCDs while driving and the need not only for employer policies against it but laws against it! She is in much demand as a speaker nation-wide and also is often hired as an expert witness in lawsuits involving employer liability. So, the word is getting spread in this way, also. And, we have another area of expertise to add to our list when we tell legislators of all the supporters of laws against this behavior. Needless to say, I spoke to her at the break, briefly gave her my background, and thanked her profusely.

Sharon Montgomery.

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Design is copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Bexley Public Radio Foundation. Text is copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Sharon Montgomery.

Sharon Montgomery Reports: DWT Presentation to Gahanna City Council, September 7, 2010.

Gahanna city council and the city administration spent months discussing how to improve traffic safety in Gahanna, so I'm confident you all read the article in the Sunday Dispatch about the Centers for Disease Control report.

The Centers for Disease Control has again calculated the economic costs of traffic crashes and again found them to be both staggering and reduceable. This agency hopes the alarming costs will motivate state and local governments to take more legislative action, where motivation hasn't come from concern over the devastating impact on citizens' lives.

The CDC claims it wants the costs reduced by reducing the number of traffic crashes but some of its recommendations will not do that. Wearing seat belts in cars or helmets on motorcycles will certainly reduce injuries and deaths when crashes occur. Fewer deaths and less severe injuries are certainly goals we as a society must strive for. But, if we want to reduce the costs even further, we must do more to prevent those crashes from occurring in the first place.

Other CDC recommendations include red light cameras, drunk driving checkpoints, and graduated driver licensing, all of which actually will prevent crashes.

The reason I am here tonight to talk publicly about this new report is the fact that the CDC did not recommend laws to restrict drivers from using mobile communication devices while driving.

The CDC based this omission on a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which supposedly shows that these phoning or texting bans are not reducing the number of crashes. The simple and obvious explanation for this conclusion is that no state or city has prohibited all use of these devices. A growing number of states and cities are prohibiting some of the ways the devices can be used by drivers. Some, like Gahanna, have comprehensive laws about giving full attention to driving. But, let me repeat: no one has yet said drivers cannot use these devices at all because of the high risk of serious consequences.

What has not been studied and is undoubtedly happening is that too many drivers where these partial bans are in effect are simply using the devices in ways not yet prohibited. If they can't text, they'll talk. If they can't talk on a hand-held device, they'll talk on a hands-free device. There is overwhelming scientific and anecdotal evidence that it is the conversation, not the manipulation of the device, that engages the brain in a way and to an extent that full attention to driving is not occurring.

A legitimate question at this point is why are other safety organizations pushing for these laws if they're not reducing crashes. The answer is that the partial laws are a necessary first step in raising awareness and changing the culture of acceptance, so eventually we can enact the laws we need.

Please understand that I am not here tonight to reopen our difference of opinion on how Gahanna should address the distracted driving problem. The city has discussed and decided on a course of action and is making the residents aware of that decision. Over time, citation and crash statistics and court records will show whether the City's decision is having the desired effect.

I am here tonight to be sure that everyone with the authority and responsibility for traffic safety has all the information they need about this new CDC report. Thank you for your time.

Sharon Montgomery.

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Voice (614) 235 2929
Fax (614) 235 3008
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Design is copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Bexley Public Radio Foundation. Text is copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Sharon Montgomery.

Sharon Montgomery continues her reports on proposed bans on texting while driving for Bexley Public Radio.

Montgomery discusses proposed Ohio legislation with WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM at Bexley lunch spot.

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The third hearing for HB 415 was Tuesday March 2. Opponents and proponents were given the opportunity to testify. The director of the Northern Ohio chapter of the National Safety Council, the vice president of Consider Biking, and another victim testified as proponents. The president of the Ohio chapter of the American College of Surgeons sent in written testimony. Committee member Rep. David T. Daniels reiterated his concern about allowing a technology that truck drivers use. Other than that, the committee had no questions of the witnesses and have still expressed no opposition. There were no opponent witnesses!

An amendment is in the works and the next hearing, with possible vote, will be at 3:00 on Tuesday March 9. I will be there. It looks very hopeful that whenever the vote is held, it will pass. A few of you wanted to testify on the dates that got snowed out then had schedule conflicts. Looks like you have another chance. In my opinion, even if these committee members don't need any more convincing, the more facts and viewpoints they hear, the more they can educate and persuade their colleagues before the House votes.

SB 164 still hasn't been scheduled for more hearings. Chairman Tom Patton has not answered my two e-mails asking for his plans. I have explained that we would prefer to testify in open meeting but if we won't be allowed to, then we need to know that so we can send our information to committee members so they can make an informed decision. My own senator is on the committee but was absent for sponsor testimony and left early, before our witnesses spoke at the next hearing, to try to get an answer for me from Sen. Patton. I haven't gotten a reply to that e-mail, either.

The Columbus suburbs of Hilliard and Pickerington have been discussing this issue. Columbus is also looking at a ban on texting while driving. The consensus at Hilliard and Pickerington is that they would prefer the state to act but coming to the realization that waiting for the state might not be the best course of action so they each plan to discuss this in their next safety committee meeting. Each municipality allows public comments in committee meetings.

The Hilliard committee meeting is not yet scheduled but might be at 6 p.m. on Monday March 22. Pickerington's is at 7:30 on Wednesday March 17. Columbus's public hearing is at 5 p.m. on Tuesday March 9. IF you want to testify, you have to fill out a speaker slip before 5 p.m. If anyone wants to come to any of these three meetings and needs travel directions contact me. If you have specific concerns for committee members to address, let me know. Each of these cities is making a strong effort to learn the facts as well as the public's wishes. I'll be at all three meetings.

Word is getting around that the suburb of Bexley has issued no citations since their law went into effect a few months ago. A member of Bexley city council told me they were stopping texting drivers but only issuing warnings. If the law had said there would be a grace period of warnings while people learned of the law, that would be okay. But to say you'll cite then not cite is undermining the law. People won't take it seriously so fewer will comply.

The National League of Cities weekly newsletter of March 1 has an article titled, "Cities taking action against distracted driving." It didn't tell of specific city ordinances but was a good summary of recent federal action and statistics illustrating the dangers.

TV Channel 10 did a great job covering the Columbus announcement of a proposed texting ban. They reported the Columbus proposal and added an interview with me. They used it as teasers, referred to it at 6:00 as the "big story," and ran it at 5:00, 6:00, & 11:00. I was mistaken when I reported last week that only TV Channels 6 and 4 ran their stories of the February 23 hearing. Channel10 ran theirs on the early news before I got home but not on the late news or online.

I tuned in a few minutes early today and Oprah ended her show reminding people not to phone or text while driving.

My suburb, Gahanna, has one high school and it has an award-winning program for teaching TV (not teaching ‘by’ TV, but actually doing TV shows). One of those students will interview me Monday morning. I don't know if the interview will be for their cable TV show or whether he just wants informatino for a class report. Either way, it's great that another avenue is opening for the younger drivers to hear about this. One of the high schools in the suburb of Worthington had an event in which students took a pledge not to DWT. The suburb of Dublin had a road rally a couple years ago for students with various safety messages. It was supposed to include a DWP demo for the students to participate in so I went to watch. It wasn't DWP, it was DUI and I think it could have done more harm than good. Students wore glasses that distorted their vision in a way that is supposed to simulate the brain confusion of DUI while they drove a golf cart. The course they drove was very short and very easy so most did quite well despite the glasses. Lesson learned: DUI's not that big a deal? I think the rally is an annual event. I didn't have time to look into it last year to see if DWP/T was addressed and if so, whether it was addressed effectively.

Sharon Montgomery

Bexley Public Radio Foundation broadcasting as
WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM, Local Power Radio
2700 E. Main St., Suite 208
Columbus, OH 43209
Voice (614) 235 2929
Fax (614) 235 3008
Email wcrxlp@yahoo.com
Blog http://agentofcurrency.blogspot.com

Bexley Public Radio Foundation is exempt from federal taxes under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Donations are deductible from federal income taxes for individuals who itemize. Checks may identify the payee as Bexley Public Radio Foundation or WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM.

Design is copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Bexley Public Radio Foundation. Text is copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Sharon Montgomery.