School Transportation News Magazine | November 2009


[Editorial Desk]


‘Hold, Please’ For years, every time I needed a new cell phone I would get the most basic model. Tere was always


the option to upgrade to a cell phone that could do everything except pull me out of bed in the morn- ing, but I always stuck with the “free” phone that usually didn’t even have a camera. I would use the hands-free headphone while driving, but when the set broke, which often happened, I never bought a new one. I would just put the phone on speaker and balance it on my shoulder as I drove. A few weeks ago, I upgraded. I was adding my sons to my account to give me a better sense of


By Stephane Babcock


security. Te operator at my cell phone carrier was able to talk me into purchasing a new phone that could e-mail, surf the Web and perform everything else I have never needed before but will probably never be able to live without again. But, all these new bells and whistles are trying to turn me into something that I hate and have always rallied against on my daily drives to and from work — a distracted driver. Last month, the feds set up a summit on this very issue. At this first-ever event, Transporta-


tion Secretary Ray LaHood announced that President Obama had signed an executive order that banned federal employees from texting while driving government or privately-owned vehicles while on official business. He also outlined a new Department of Transportation directive that would prohibit the use of cell phones by rail, truck, interstate and school bus drivers (now if only the government could recognize school buses in a more fiscally beneficial way…). In the September issue, we wrote an article that mentioned some data on driver cell phone use


recently released by NHTSA that the agency called “ancient history,” and said that their release did not “presume that any of them had any validity.” One non-NHTSA source in the article called the behavior “as bad as drinking and driving,” a statement echoed by LaHood at the summit: “Driving while distracted should feel wrong, just like driving without a seat belt or [while] drinking.” What was labeled “ancient history” by NHTSA suddenly seems to be the backing for the present push on banning this behavior. Some governments have even taken to the airwaves — sometimes in extreme ways — to open


more eyes to the dangers of driving while texting. In Great Britain, a public service announcement has been aired that shows the potential results of what happens when you combine driving with text-savvy teenagers. Te PSA is graphic, to say the least, and, in the end, shows how the driver’s be- haviors, although common in every country, leads to the death of her two friends who are passen- gers, and another driver after they collide head-on into an oncoming car. Rather than post any links, I would just say that it is easily found in a Google search. It has been shown to high school students all over England and has been reported on by a number of media outlets on this side of the Atlantic. Putting texting aside for a moment, are hands-free devices helping to make driving and talking


safer? Tere are arguments on both sides of the issue, but from personal experience, whenever I have to make a call in the car, I still have to unlock my phone, find the number I want to call and then actually hit send. Each step may only take a second or two, but each one takes my eyes off the road and my brain away from the traffic all around me. As was mentioned at the distracted driving summit, a vehicle can travel as far as 100 yards in that second a driver takes his or her eyes off the road. Multiply that by the majority of drivers on the road every day and that will add up to a fright- ening statistic on its own I’m sure. Even with my new state-of-the-art phone, which has a feature that allows me to speak the name of the person I want to call, there is still a split-second where my attention is somewhere else, and I have seen first-hand what a split second can do in traffic. But, technology is trying to find the answer, and I’m sure any number of “truly” hands-free options will come out of the woodwork soon. In California, when talking while driving was banned, every tech store in state had sales on their Bluetooth headsets. At the summit, another interesting side of the issue was discussed — the dialogue itself. Is it


the use of a cell phone that is a danger, or is it people’s habit to relax when they are having a conversation with a friend? Tere is little if any data to back up either side, but it is something that needs to be discussed. I know there will be those out there who will say that a ban would take away another one of our


“rights” and that it is the government again telling us what to do and when to do it. But, to me, the argument is null and void if it means lives are saved. For me, I just bought a Bluetooth for driving, but, unless it’s my wife or my kids, I won’t answer. n


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