Tag Archives: Distracted Driving

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Distracted Driving Criminals: Shutterbugs

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We have repeatedly covered the national texting while driving epidemic, highlighting the huge public safety concern that it presents. Some research has found that those who text behind the wheel can travel some 100 300 yards — the length of a football field — without looking at the road.

But Stacey Higginbotham of Gigaom has pointed out something perhaps even worse: taking photos while driving.

Everyone talks about texting while driving, but what about something I think may be even more distracting: “snapping while driving,” as in taking photographs? In the last few weeks, I’ve twice been behind cars (a truck in one case) whose drivers have whipped out smartphones and taken pictures while at a light or stop sign. Austin is a picturesque city, but I was still surprised to look over on my way to an event on Wednesday evening and see the driver to my right aiming a camera phone at her right, while in moving traffic.

The photographic proof is all over the web, with my colleague Kevin sending me evidence of his own guilt on this matter. From pictures of rainbows taken while driving to photos of famous landmarks, I have to ask why people take such a risk.

Why indeed?

photographer black and white

Be sure to pull over and turn off the car before taking photos.

Distracted Driving on Company Time . . .

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. . . A Risk Manager’s Worst Nightmare.

That was the title of the webinar I participated in yesterday, hosted by Risk and Insurance. Speaking on the topic were:

  • Dexter Hamilton, member and general/commercial litigator at Cozen O’Connor
  • Jami McClellan, senior risk engineering consultant at Zurich
  • Paul Bomberger, editor in chief of Risk and Insurance

Without wasting any time, the panel began discussion about various studies published in the recent past that highlight the dangers of distracted driving. Not only is it hazardous to those behind the wheel, but if the driver is talking on a work-issued phone, or about work-related issues, or driving a company-owned vehicle, the company stands liable.

According to webinar, there is no difference in distraction between hand-held and hands-free devices. In not-so-obvious news, distracted driving is one of the top insurance losses — averaging $100,000 per incident.

The panelists highlighted several cases of companies that were required to pay hefty sums for on-the-road accidents caused by their employees.

One such case involved a brokerage firm whose employee was driving his personal vehicle but talking about company business on his cell phone. The driver hit and severely injured a motorcyclist while talking on his phone. His employer was forced to pay $500,000 to settle the case.

“There’s simply going to be no sympathy once an accident happens,” said Hamilton. “And companies must realize that brand destruction is very critical. A high-profile accident can harm the brand everyone worked so hard to maintain and promote.”

For another example we can turn to the case of Tiburzi v Holmes, which involved Jeffrey Knight, who was a driver for Holmes Transport & Logistics, and Mark Tiburzi, who was driving his personal vehicle at the time. Knight caused an accident that injured 15 and killed three in St. Louis, Missouri. One of those injured was Tiburzi, who suffered severe traumatic brain injury. The cause of the accident? Along with excessive speed and driving over the alloted on-duty hours, distraction was blamed — Knight had looked away from the road to check his cell phone. The jury awarded Tiburzi $18 million — to be paid by Knight’s employer.

For more on this topic, check out “Unsafe at Any Speed” in Risk Management magazine.

distracted driving

Federal Texting Ban for Truck and Bus Drivers

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In a move that will undoubtedly make America’s roads a safer place, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood issued a full ban on texting while driving any bus or truck. The ban, effective immediately, states that truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750. As the Department of Transportation notice states:

During the September 2009 Distracted Driving Summit, the Secretary announced the Department’s plan to pursue this regulatory action, as well as rulemakings to reduce the risks posed by distracted driving. President Obama also signed an Executive Order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment.  Federal employees were required to comply with the ban starting on December 30, 2009.

Texting while driving any vehicle has caused numerous accidents, many of them fatal. Though the exact number of accidents caused by this distraction is not know, numbers are suspected to be high. Back in November, we ran a story on the dangers of texting while driving. At that time, 17 states had banned texting while driving. Now, that number stands at 19. For a complete breakdown of the states that have enforced rules on the use of cell phones while driving, the Governors Highway Safety Association offers the following table:

federal text messaging ban

Taking Risk to a New Level: Internet on Dashboards

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shutterstock_badchoice

As if talking and texting on cell phones wasn’t enough of a distraction to drivers these days, car companies are now installing computers right in the front seat, according to a recent piece in The New York Times. Apparently Intel and Google are working with numerous automakers in hopes of fattening their bottom lines (even more!).

The first wave of these “infotainment systems,” as the tech and car industries call them, will hit the market this year. While built-in navigation features were once costly options, the new systems are likely to be standard equipment in a wide range of cars before long.

As you could imagine, safety advocates are up in arms about this innovative, but potentially deadly, car equipment. Recent research has shown that texting while driving is extremely dangerous. We ran a column in our October issue highlighting this topic. In it, we referenced a study by the Virginia Tech Trasportation Institute, which found that texting takes a driver’s eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds, long enough to blindly travel the length of a football field at 55 mph.

If that’s true for texting, imagine what happens when you add in surfing the web while driving. With a cell phone in one hand and the other hand on the dashboard computer screen, it seems maneuvering a 2-ton piece of metal may be the actual distraction to some drivers. The New York Times again states:

One system on the way this fall from Audi lets drivers pull up information as they drive. Heading to Madison Square Garden for a basketball game? Pop down the touch pad, finger-scribble the word “Knicks” and get a Wikipedia entry on the arena, photos and reviews of nearby restaurants, and animations of the ways to get there.

Wow. This makes me thankful that I don’t own a car and therefore don’t drive, opting instead to take NYC mass transit or walk. But this is a threat not only to other drivers, but to pedestrians as well. That’s it, I’m never leaving my apartment.

In all seriousness though, the idea of computers on car dashboards will surely attract massive backlash from the car insurance industry, just as texting while driving has. In fact, the following states have completely outlawed texting while driving:

  1. Alaska
  2. Arkansas
  3. California
  4. Colorado
  5. Connecticut
  6. D.C.
  7. Guam
  8. Illinois
  9. Louisiana
  10. Maryland
  11. Minnesota
  12. New Hampshire
  13. New Jersey
  14. New York
  15. North Carolina
  16. Oregon
  17. Rhode Island
  18. Tennessee
  19. Utah
  20. Virginia
  21. Washington

I keep an eye on this lengthy list and to me, it seems there’s a new state added every other week. I wouldn’t be surprised to see, at some point soon, some type of ban against the use of computers while driving, at least if safety advocates and car insurance companies have their say. What do you think? Computers in cars — good idea or death wish?