What do Oprah, the US Secretary of Transportation, the Auto Club, insurance companies and, state governors have in common?

The US Transportation Department recently proposed to outlaw text messaging while driving by interstate truck and bus drivers.  This regulatory action follows up on its public service program to lessen the number of distracted drivers that lead to crashes.

The plan would replace the temporary ban put in place in January by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  The planned ban applies to bus drivers and truck drivers operating vehicles weighing more than five tons.  To give an idea of the serious nature of the problem, violators could be facing civil penalities and/or even criminal charges.

The United States Transportation Department reported that 5,870 people were killed and about 515,000 were injured in 2008 in accidents involving distracted drivers.  They has not determined how many of those accidents were linked to mobile phone.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mirror the Transportation Department statistics with projection that around eighty percent of accidents are caused by distracted drivers.  The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is funding research to determine the extent of the distraction issue.  The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)   reports that driver inattention is a determining factor in many crashes, and cell phone calls and sending text messages are some of the most common driver distractions.

States aren’t waiting for data and are issuing new regulations dealing with mobile phone calls  and texting .  The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that twenty states and Washington DC restrict all drivers from texting when behind the wheel.  An additional nine states prohibiting texting by beginning drivers.  The remaining states are expected to implement the ban before too long.  However it is also widely recognized that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are neede.  The Governors Highway Safety Association purports to say it supports texting bans for all drivers, but does have concerns about enforcement.

One source of a potential solution is Phone Beagle.  Their software installs on Android and BlackBerry cell phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log events.

The trucking and passenger bus industries support the texting prohibition, and many corporations have firm policies against texting while driving.  The government, industry and safety organizations all agree that distracted drivers  caused bysending text messages is a menace to society, and is worthy of action.  Advocates for addressing the problem also include media powerhouse Oprah.  

The issue is a relatively new phenomenon.  As navigation systems, mobile phones and other mobile electronics have become ubiquitous in cars and trucks, safety advocates and the government have pushed for action to curb the problem.

As regulations and technology develop to solve the issues a software package from  Phone Beagle is available to help deal with monitoring phone use.  Their software installs on Android and BlackBerry cell phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log activity.