US to unify regulations on cell-phone use at the wheel?

A new bill being presented in the US may ban the use of cell-phones by drivers while at the wheel. Should this bill go ahead, it would unify actions in a number of states under a single law that applies to the entire country. The move, called the Safe Drivers Act, is seen crucial to plans to tackle distracted driving.
April 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSA new bill being presented in the US may ban the use of cell-phones by drivers while at the wheel. Should this bill go ahead, it would unify actions in a number of states under a single law that applies to the entire country. The move, called the Safe Drivers Act, is seen crucial to plans to tackle distracted driving.

Various studies in the US and Europe show that cell-phone use while driving can increase the risk of an accident by a factor of four. This poses more of a risk than when a driver is just over the legal limit for alcohol levels in the blood stream when at the wheel. Young drivers are particularly likely to use cell-phones while driving to make calls, check messages and use other applications according to research carried out in the US and Europe.

The proposed Safe Drivers Act would ban people from holding cell-phones while at the wheel, although the use of hands-free devices would still be permitted under the new rules and which would be written by the Department of Transportation (DoT). The bill proposes that the DoT carry out a study within two-years to investigate further the risks posed by drivers talking on the phone while at the wheel, which may have implications for the use of hands-free devices in the future. This bill follows on from measures by US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to tackle distracted driving, which is thought to be a major cause of road accidents in the US and Europe, as well as elsewhere in the world.

Related Content

  • EU urged to fast-track revised cross-border enforcement law
    July 21, 2014
    TISPOL and its road safety partners across Europe are urging the EU to fast-track the adoption of a modified law on cross-border enforcement of traffic offences such as speeding. The modified rules, published by the European Commission, come in response to a European Court of Justice ruling in May that said the existing law, which came into force in November last year, had been adopted on an incorrect legal basis. The ECJ has said the current rules could remain in effect until May 2015 while new legisla
    Read More
  • Tackling speed enforcement with electronic vehicle recognition
    July 4, 2012
    An innovative electronic vehicle registration system is being rolled out across Bangkok in Thailand, with road safety and speed enforcement the principal aims Equipment contracts and partnerships relating to a system of electronic vehicle registration (EVR) have been forming in Bangkok over the past couple of years. EVR can be applied to tackle a broad range of problems for transport authorities, including tax evasion, crime and insurance fraud. For Thailand’s Department of Land Transport (DLT), its EVR sy
    Read More
  • Unlit bollard liability for UK authorities
    April 19, 2012
    A ruling by a court in Cambridge is likely to have major implications for councils and authorities across the UK after a cyclist won compensation when he collided with a bollard at night. These were placed on a cycle route to prevent vehicular access to the cycle path, which runs alongside the River Cam and is used day and night by cyclists who commute to/from Cambridge, as a safer alternative to using the busy A10.
    Read More
  • Infrastructure and the autonomous vehicle
    December 12, 2014
    Harold Worrall ponders the effect of autonomous vehicles on transportation infrastructure. For the last century the transportation industry has been focused on the supply of infrastructure to support the ever growing fleet of vehicles and the greater number of miles covered by each vehicle. Our focus has been planning, funding, designing, building and maintaining roadways. Politicians, engineers, planners, financial managers … all of us have had this focus. We have experienced demand growth since the first
    Read More

Highlighted Content