Anti-Distracted Driving Efforts push Trucking Safety in Houston

As National Distracted Driving Awareness Month comes to a close, the National Safety Council and FocusDriven encourage truckers and other motorists to practice safe driving year around.  For the entire month, the safe driving advocate groups urged drivers to curb their cell phone use while behind the wheel.  The National Safety Council estimates that 1.6 million accidents, 28 percent of all crashes, are caused by drivers using cell phones or texting while driving.  This makes cell phone use the number one cause for distracted driving accidents in Texas and elsewhere in the United States.
Our Houston truck accident lawyers would like to urge drivers to do their part in helping to keep our roadways safe.  We ask that all motorists put away all distractions while operating a vehicle.  A large truck and a distracted driver is a recipe for serious injury.

“Every single time someone takes their eyes or their focus off the road - even for just a few seconds - they put their lives and the lives of others in danger,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible and in a split second, its consequences can be devastating.”

The NSC thinks that this month is an excellent time to implement a cell phone policy in the work place as many work accidents are motor-vehicle related.  The Safety Council has  provided employers with a Cell Phone Policy Kit to help them get the ball rolling on a safer and injury free workplace.  Employers are encouraged to hold open meeting with employees. Many materials in the Cell Phone Policy Kit kit will help you communicate. It is recommended that you request feedback from employees regarding the policy as well.

“National Distracted Driving Awareness Month also is the perfect opportunity for businesses to implement cell phone policies to protect employees. When businesses allow employees to conduct business on cell phones while driving, they are putting their employees at a 4 times greater risk of a crash,” said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO.

Statistics, provided by Distraction.gov, illustrate just how dangerous distracted driving habits are:

 -Nearly 5,500 people were killed, and another 448,000 injured, in the United States because of motor-vehicle accidents that reportedly involved a distracted driver in 2009.

-Of those killed in distracted-driving related accidents, nearly 1,000 of them -- 18 percent of fatalities -- reported cell phone use as the distraction.

-Drivers who use hand-held devices while driving are four times more likely to get into an accident that results in serious injury.

-Using a cell phone behind the wheel delays a driver's reaction time as much as being legally drunk, or having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent of higher.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 3,300 fatal large truck accidents occurred in 2009. Nearly 300 of those fatal accidents involving semi-trucks and other large trucks happened in the state of Texas the same year

Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, led by Administrator Anne Ferro, placed a ban on commercial truck and bus drivers from texting with any hand-held cellphone or other devices while driving as they take driver’s attention off the road.

"Our regulations will help prevent unsafe activity within the cab, and we want to make it crystal clear that texting is one of those unsafe activities these regulations prohibit," said Ferro.

According to a New York Times report, over 30 states have text messaging bans for all drivers.  One-third of those laws were enacted back in 2010.

“Unfortunately though, the problem doesn't end there.  Distracted driving occurs across all age groups and all modes of transportation, from cars to buses and trucks to trains. We must work together to find solutions that will prevent crashes caused by driver distraction,” said Secretary LaHood.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with a truck in Houston or the surrounding areas, contact the Houston Injury Lawyers at The Stephens Law Firm by calling (713) 224-0000.