ATA Commends Department of Transportation for Focus on Driver Distraction

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Trucking Associations (ATA) commends the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for taking action to highlight the significant dangers of driving distracted, including distractions from writing, sending or reading text messages while driving.

The DOT announced today that in late September, senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics will convene in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to best combat distracted driving. ATA will be part in these important safety discussions.

“We’re pleased to have the support and leadership of Secretary LaHood and the Department of Transportation on this very important issue,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Improving driver performance by eliminating distractions, including those caused by text messaging, will greatly improve the safety of all motorists.”

Since October 2008, ATA has advocated for policies that would minimize or eliminate driver distraction caused by using electronic devices while operating any type of motor vehicle. ATA’s safety agenda explains that electronic communication devices hinder driver performance by taking the driver’s eyes off the road. Drivers may also become so absorbed in their text message that their ability to concentrate on driving is impaired.

ATA also supports the safety objectives in the “Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting (ALERT) by Drivers Act of 2009.” The bill, introduced July 29 by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) encourages states to ban texting while operating a motor vehicle. The bill requires all states to within two years of the bill’s passage ban writing, sending or reading text messages using a hand-held mobile telephone or other portable electronic communication device. States that do not comply with the legislation risk losing 25 percent of their annual federal highway funding.

While ATA supports the objectives of the proposed legislation, we will work to ensure that the bill does not inadvertently require states to outlaw the use of truck cab fleet management systems that provide limited but necessary cargo-related information to professional drivers.

Click here to view ATA’s progressive safety agenda.

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.

SOURCE American Trucking Associations