Latest Mobile phones and driving safety Stories

State Action Recommended But More Research Needed WASHINGTON, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) released the first comprehensive overview summarizing distracted driving research for state officials. The report considered research from more than 350 scientific papers published between 2000 and 2011. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090827/GHSALOGO) GHSA produced the new report--Distracted Driving: What Research Shows and What...

OMAHA, Neb., June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Safety Council invites drivers to join them in the first Great National Cell Off Day by turning their cell phones off while on the roads. "Texting or talking, cell phones are one of the most common causes of distracted driving. We hope drivers in Omaha and across the nation will join us in eliminating this distraction completely while behind the wheel by turning their cell phones off on June 29," said Kay Farrell, National Safety...

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's first and most ambitious statewide campaign against distracted driving was deemed a success at the close of the monthlong Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April. Officials of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and California Highway Patrol (CHP) praised the cooperation of hundreds of state and local agencies and the reaction of the public to the campaign, which combined the resources of 103 CHP offices throughout...

SAN DIEGO, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The state of California, together with the California Highway Patrol, have deemed April a zero-tolerance Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Drivers who use hand-held devices on the road are four times more likely to become involved in a serious injury accident than those who abstain from distractions behind the wheel according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Researchers have also found that delayed reaction time caused by...

SAN DIEGO, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In the first-ever observational survey of cell phone use by drivers within a state, California drivers are yakking and texting at a combined rate of at least nine percent, representing hundreds of thousands of drivers at any given time. The statewide survey, conducted during March, was commissioned by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). Officials also announced that, with approximately 55 percent of law enforcement agencies reporting...

Steven J. Schwartzapfel, a founding lawyer of the New York personal injury law firm of Schwartzapfel Partners, says a State Farm survey finding that nearly one in five drivers surf the Internet while behind the wheel indicates a need to increase awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. New York, NY (Vocus/PRWEB) March 10, 2011 New York lawyer Steven J. Schwartzapfel has called attention to a new law which makes hand-held cell phone use a two-point moving violation on NY...

Colorado girl died on Thanksgiving in 2008 because of a cell phone distracted driver RIVER FOREST, Ill., Nov. 24, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On a day that many around the country will give thanks for all they have, family and friends of Erica Forney will remember a little girl whose life was cut short because of a driver distracted by a cell phone. Two days before Thanksgiving in 2008, 9-year-old Erica was riding her bike home from school. She was just 15 pedals from the safety of her...

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- As families across California are planning for holiday travel, the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has completed California's first ever statewide survey to assess the opinions of motorists across the state on a multitude of important traffic safety issues. The results varied from surprising to reassuring that current efforts are paying off. "This survey provides OTS and traffic safety partners with a unique opportunity to hear directly from...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Vlingo Corporation, the world's leading provider of intelligent voice applications that turn your words into actions, today released results from its third annual Vlingo 'Texting While Driving' in America Report. Based on a survey of nearly 5,000 U.S. consumers that was fielded by independent panel research firm Toluna, the study found that while more state laws exist today to ban texting while driving, 35% of mobile phone users continue to text...

Texting bans for drivers are ineffective at best and could encourage furtive behavior behind the wheel, according to a study funded by United States auto insurers released on Tuesday. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) said it found no reduction in vehicle accident claims after bans on texting while driving went into effect in four US states -- California, Louisiana, Minnesota and Washington. Texting bans appear in the law books in most of the 50 American states, as well as Washington DC,...