First Steps Taken in Fight on Distracted Driving

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) took the first big steps, this week, to making our roadways much more safe. They called for the first-ever nationwide ban on driver use of Personal Electronic Devices while operating a motor vehicle on Tuesday and safety advocates responded with overwhelming support! The following instances were included in their press release and only serve to reinforce the sentiment that no text, no email, no phone call is worth a human life.

• In 2004, an experienced motorcoach driver, distracted on his hands-free cell phone, failed to move to the center lane and struck the underside of an arched stone bridge on the George Washington Parkway in Alexandria, Virginia. Eleven of the 27 high school students were injured;

• In the 2008 collision of a commuter train with a freight train in Chatsworth, California, the commuter train engineer, who had a history of using his cell phone for personal communications while on duty, ran a red signal while texting. That train collided head on with a freight train - killing 25 and injuring dozens;

• In 2009, two airline pilots were out of radio communication with air traffic control for more than an hour because they were distracted by their personal laptops. They overflew their destination by more than 100 miles, only realizing their error when a flight attendant inquired about preparing for arrival.

• In Philadelphia in 2010, a barge being towed by a tugboat ran over an amphibious "duck" boat in the Delaware River, killing two Hungarian tourists. The tugboat mate failed to maintain a proper lookout due to repeated use of a cell-phone and laptop computer;

• In 2010, near Munfordville, Kentucky, a truck-tractor in combination with a 53-foot-long trailer, left its lane, crossed the median and collided with a 15-passenger van. The truck driver failed to maintain control of his vehicle because he was distracted by use of his cell-phone. The accident resulted in 11 fatalities

Do your part. Call your Representatives and voice your support for this ban. Leave the phone alone! Visit http://www.house.state.oh.us/ to find your representative and let them know that you want to see this ban passed. Help make our roadways safer! Leave the Phone Alone!