RESEARCH PHYSICIAN
on- and off-the-job traffic injuries cost Texas businesses $4.3 billion annually in lawsuits, medical bills, property damage, and lost productivity.
TMA policy focuses on the dangers of using hand-held devices while driving. The TMA Council on Science and Public Health presented a report on the broader public safety issue of distracted driving at TexMed 2012. It outlined TMA’s sup- port of surveillance, public education, and legislation to improve highway and road safety, and to reduce preventable injuries and deaths. This includes laws on the use of seatbelts and car seats by children, restrictions on driving under the influence, and identification of im- paired drivers. It advocates continued study and monitoring of distracted driv- ing, specifically the use of hand-held and hands-free devices by Texans. The TMA House of Delegates ap-
proved its recommendations. The result- ing policy says TMA will:
• Promote TxDOT’s program on dis- tracted driving and encourage the department to adopt national best practice guidance to improve surveil- lance of distracted driving in Texas to include developing a linkage between TxDOT data on traffic accidents and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) EMS-Trauma Reg- istry to enable the state to assess distracted driving and its impact on preventable deaths and disability in Texas;
• Encourage the Texas Legislature to develop appropriate regulatory ac- tions to reduce distracted driving; and
• Promote physician awareness of dis- tracted driving education campaigns and information resources for pa- tients.
TMA bases its efforts on a strong
awareness of the scope and variety of factors that contribute to the problem of distracted driving. TMA physicians rec- ognize the use of hand-held and hands- free devices and other factors associated with distracted driving affect their pa- tients’ safety.
Drivers feel the impact Twenty-five Texas cities have banned texting while driving. Thirty-nine states have passed laws restricting the use of mobile communication devices while driving, although restrictions vary among states. No state bans all drivers from using hand-held devices. In 2009, lawmakers filed more than 200 bills in state legislatures on driving and cell phone use. The Texas Legislature passed a law in 2005 to prohibit new drivers younger than 18 from using hand-held devices while driving. Lawmakers supplemented the law in 2009 by prohibiting the use of mobile devices by bus drivers, as well as driver use of the devices in school cross- ing zones.
The 2011 legislature banned the use of a hand-held wireless communication device for reading, writing, or send- ing a text-based communication while operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped, but Governor Perry vetoed the legislation. Texas Medicine requested a comment from Governor Perry but hadn’t received a statement from him at press time. But in late Feb- ruary, a spokesperson for the governor told the Austin American-Statesman the governor believes texting while driving is “reckless and irresponsible,” but that he feels “the key to dissuading drivers from texting while driving is information and education, not government micro- management.” According to TxDOT, the percentage of drivers texting or visibly manipulating a hand-held device nationally increased from 0.6 percent in 2009 to 0.9 percent in 2010. At the same time, the percent- age of motorists holding cell phones to their ears while driving stood at 5 per- cent in 2010. This means that at any giv- en time of day in 2010, 660,000 drivers used hand-held cell phones. NHTSA identified distracted driving as a leading factor in motor vehicle ac- cidents and, starting in 2010, focused on hand-held devices in its three-year na- tional plan to reduce distracted driving. Strategies to address distracted driv- ing focus primarily on reducing the use of electronic communication devices and on increasing local regulation. Public
Research corporation needs a physician for an ongoing national health/nutrition study. Individual will be part of a large medical team.
Must be licensed in at least one state. FULL-TIME CONTINUOUS TRAVEL REQUIRED. Fluency in reading, writing, and speaking English is required. Competitive salary is augmented by paid malpractice, meal/travel allowance, holidays, and individual housing/car; subsidized health insurance available.
To learn more about this position and apply, go to
www.westat.com/ fieldjobs and enter Job ID 5918BR. WESTAT EOE
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started today. April 2013 TEXAS MEDICINE 39 Scan to get
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