Latest Distracted Driving Headlines
All the headlines from our Distracted Driving Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oklahoma Bill Bans Cell Phone Use by Teen Drivers
Feb 21 2012 // Legislation that would prevent teenage drivers from using cell phones while driving has cleared a Senate panel. The Senate Public Safety Committee voted 6-2 last week for the bill, Senate Bill 182, which now heads to the...
Feds Seek Limit on Vehicle Electronics to Curb Distracted Driving
Feb 21 2012 // The Obama administration wants automakers to put limits on vehicle technologies that permit texting and cellphone calling when a car is moving, as part of a broader effort to stop driving behaviors that could be...
Florida Lawmakers Weigh Texting While Driving Ban
Feb 13 2012 // Joyce Concklin has 10 good reasons why every state should pass a ban on texting while driving: That’s the number of bones she broke when a texting driver ran into her. That driver died, his mobile phone still...
Alabama Panel Passes Texting While Driving Bill
Feb 10 2012 // An Alabama House committee has approved a bill that would ban sending or reading text messages while driving. The bill by Republican Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville passed the House Public Safety and Homeland Security...
Oklahoma City Teen Featured in Distracted-Driving Campaign
Jan 23 2012 // A new national campaign warning against distracted driving features the story of an Oklahoma City teenager who was killed in a car crash while talking on her cell phone. The U.S. Department of Transportation video...
2-Year Term for Texting Driver in Fatal Oregon Crash
Jan 13 2012 // A La Pine, Ore. driver was sentenced Wednesday to more than two years in prison for a fatal crash near Bend that occurred while he was texting his girlfriend who was sitting next to him. Deschutes County Circuit Judge Alta...
Alaska Law Meant To Ban Texting While Driving Challenged
Dec 27 2011 // Alaska’s intended ban on texting while driving is facing a legal challenge, with a magistrate in Kenai saying the Legislature should have been explicit if they truly meant to prohibit the activity. The decision this...
Report: Utah is Toughest State for Texting Drivers
Dec 21 2011 // Utah comes out on top of InsuarnceQuote.com’s list of the 10 toughest states for texting while driving. InsuranceQuotes.com reviewed laws of the 35 states that ban text messaging for all drivers. The review took into...
New Indiana Texting-Driving Ban Yields Few Citations
Dec 20 2011 // In its first five months on the books, Indiana’s texting-while-driving ban has led to only a few dozen citations by state troopers — a trend police blame on restrictions in the law that make it difficult for them...
Some in Massachusetts Eye Tougher Cellphone Restrictions for Motorists
Dec 16 2011 // Supporters of tougher laws against distracted driving said Wednesday they hoped the National Transportation Safety Board’s call for an outright ban on all non-emergency cellphone use by motorists would encourage...
Distracted Driving Stems From More Than Cell Phone Use, Insurers Say
Dec 16 2011 // Using a cell phone while driving is not the only distraction leading to automobile crashes today, says a group of insurance carriers. While the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) call for a national...
National Transportation Board Recommends Ban on Driver Cell Phone Use
Dec 14 2011 // States should ban all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday. The recommendation, unanimously agreed to by the five-member...
NTSB Focuses on Driver Texting in Missouri Crash
Dec 14 2011 // A texting pickup truck driver who caused a deadly highway pileup in Missouri last year has federal accident investigators taking a hard look at the use of distracting devices behind the wheel. The National Transportation...
Government Study: Texting by Drivers Up by Half in 2010
Dec 9 2011 // New federal safety data shows texting while driving increased 50 percent last year, despite a rush by states to ban the practice. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does an annual survey that watches...
Declarations
Dec 5 2011 // Massachusetts Models “Untested and unsupported forecast models should not be used to justify rates that are excessive. Hurricane models have a significant impact on the premiums paid by all Massachusetts homeowners...
Insurance Company Poll: Oregon Drivers Want Harsher Cell Phone Penalties
Dec 5 2011 // According to a poll from PEMCO Insurance, nearly half of Portland-area drivers are upset enough at the prospect of sharing the road with distracted drivers that they believe lawmakers should treat those caught talking,...
Insurance Company Poll: Oregon Drivers Want Harsher Penalties for Cell Phone Violators
Nov 16 2011 // According to a poll from PEMCO Insurance, nearly half of Portland-area drivers are upset enough at the prospect of sharing the road with distracted drivers that they believe lawmakers should treat those caught talking,...
New York Students to See Danger of Texting While Driving
Nov 16 2011 // Students in suburban New York are getting a chance to learn the perils of distracted driving without having to worry about an accident or a traffic ticket. A texting-while-driving simulator that resembles an old-fashioned...
Texas Texting Study Finds Slower Driver Response Times
Oct 17 2011 // New findings from a Texas study show texting while driving is more dangerous than previously thought. Reading or writing a text message behind the wheel can more than double a driver’s reaction time, according to a...
Top 10 Excuses From Drivers Caught Using Phones
Oct 14 2011 // The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, a Canadian auto insurer, released last week a list of top excuses from local motorists when they were caught using handheld cellphones while driving. The insurer compiled the...
