Skip to main content

US DOT proposes guidelines to address driver distraction

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released proposed guidelines today to help address driver distraction caused by mobile and other electronic devices in vehicles. The announcement covers the second phase of voluntary guidelines to address driver distraction on US. roads. The first phase focused on devices or systems built into the vehicle at the time of manufacture. The proposed, voluntary guidelines are designed to encourage portable and after
November 25, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released proposed guidelines today to help address driver distraction caused by mobile and other electronic devices in vehicles. The announcement covers the second phase of voluntary guidelines to address driver distraction on US. roads. The first phase focused on devices or systems built into the vehicle at the time of manufacture.

The proposed, voluntary guidelines are designed to encourage portable and aftermarket electronic device developers to design products that, when used while driving, reduce the potential for driver distraction.

The guidelines encourage manufacturers to implement features such as pairing, where a portable device is linked to a vehicle’s infotainment system, as well as Driver Mode, which is a simplified user interface. Both pairing and Driver Mode will reduce the potential for unsafe driver distraction by limiting the time a driver’s eyes are off the road, while at the same time preserving the full functionality of these devices when they are used at other times.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Integrating traffic systems improves management and control
    April 25, 2012
    Following a successful trial in 2007, VicRoads has adopted Streams Motorway Management from Transmax as its primary traffic management and control system Throughout the world, the avoidable social cost of traffic congestion continues to rise each year with increased motorisation, urbanisation and population growth. Traffic congestion is responsible for an increase in travel times, vehicle operating costs and carbon emissions. In 2007, VicRoads commissioned Streams Motorway Management for the M1 Monash Freew
  • Siemens to provide V2I technology for Florida pilot connected vehicle pilot project
    March 24, 2016
    Siemens, as a member of the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) team, has been chosen by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to provide vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology for a new connected vehicle pilot project. Siemens V2I technology will enable vehicles and pedestrians to communicate with traffic infrastructure like intersections and traffic lights in real-time to reduce congestion specifically during peak rush hour in downtown Tampa. The technology will also help improve s
  • Mileage based charging offers secure future for funding
    August 10, 2016
    HNTB’s Matthew Click sets out why a move to mileage-based pricing is inevitable. Infrastructure is the most neglected yet the most critical engine of our society, and our continued indifference could lead to a dystopian future. Our roads, bridges and highways have been largely passed by in the digital age—marginalised in an era when funding is limited and stewardship of physical assets has given way to our preoccupation with technological innovation and data—the stuff of the virtual realm.
  • Carrots are proving cost-effective in Netherlands
    October 3, 2018
    There are lessons to be learned from congestion avoidance schemes in the Netherlands. David Crawford welcomes some new thinking in road pricing. Highway operators worldwide are being urged to learn from Dutch experience in using financial carrots rather than sticks to encourage drivers to avoid contributing to congestion. A Netherlands/UK group makes a convincing cost/benefit case in a new global survey of road pricing technologies, economics and acceptability. Representing the Rijkswaterstaat section of