National Two-Second Turnoff Day: Sept. 17, 2010

A lot can happen in two seconds. For example, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, taking your eyes off the road for two seconds doubles your chances of being in a car crash. However, it only takes two seconds to turn off your cell phone before you get behind the wheel.

National Two-Second Turnoff Day takes place tomorrow. The campaign, sponsored by AAA, Seventeen Magazine, and the US Department of Transportation (DOT), urges teens to pay special attention to the risks of distracted driving. Research conducted by AAA and Seventeen found that 86% of male and female teens have driven while distracted, even though 84% admitted they know it's dangerous.

Seventeen Magazine's "Viral Video Challenge,” part of National Two-Second Turnoff Day, is actively helping teens spread the news of the dangers of distracted driving. Winner Emily Langston's anti-distracted driving video, "It Can Wait," will be featured at DOT's 2010 Distracted Driving Summit, in Washington, D.C., on September 21, 2010.

Congratulations to Ms. Langston, AAA, Seventeen Magazine, and DOT for working hard to promote safe driving.

Visit the official US Government website for distracted driving.

Con-way Freight Incorporates Advanced Safety Technologies

Less-than-truckload (LTL) Con-way Freight recently invested $5.4 million toward the installation of several advanced safety technologies into 1,300 new Freightliner Cascadia 2010-model tractors, which the carrier has put into service. Con-way’s goals for incorporating the safety technologies are to reduce the frequency of accidents and the accident situations that trucks are most commonly involved in. They are also aiming to minimize driver distraction.

Examples of the technologies Con-way has installed include a forward collision warning technology with adaptive cruise control, developed by Meritor Wabco, to help with maintaining a safe following distance and to help with avoiding rear-end collisions by braking as needed. The lane departure warning system, developed by Iteris, monitors the vehicle’s lane position and sounds an alarm when the vehicle’s operator unintentionally moves out of the lane. The roll stability control, also developed by Meritor Wabco, senses when the vehicle is at high risk of a rollover and automatically intervenes. And in order to help minimize driver distraction, Con-way implemented factory-installed, in-dash AM/FM/satellite radios in place of portable radios. This means drivers have one fewer distraction to content with behind the wheel.

"With the anticipated release of FMCSA's Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 initiative and the potential for stricter safety regulations for truck drivers and trucking companies, Con-way Freight is proactively pursuing a high-tech approach to safety," said Bob Petrancosta, the company's vice president of safety. Petrancosta also stated that Con-way was very pleased to work with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) in the year of testing and research that went into the implementation of the technologies which can provide “real-world, lifesaving results.”

Read a news piece about Con-way’s safety technologies.

Visit Con-way Freight online.
Visit Meritor Wabco online.
Visit Iteris online.

Effective July 1: Kansas Safety Belt Law, Georgia Text Ban

Kansas Becomes 31st State to Pass Primary Safety Belt Law
Beginning July 1st, law enforcement officers can stop truckers for not wearing a safety belt in Kansas. Previously, Kansas law considered failing to wear a safety belt a secondary offense; it could only be enforced if the driver was stopped for another infraction, such as speeding. By passing the law, Kansas is eligible for $1 million in federal funds for public safety programs. Read an article by the Wichita Eagle.

Georgia Becomes 28th State to Ban Texting While Driving
Also beginning on July 1st, drivers in Georgia can receive a citation for texting while driving. The law bans sending a text message as well as reading an incoming text. However, Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue indicated that the law may change in the future because of potentially confusing ramifications in the language. When a cell phone buzzes, the driver may not know whether it is a phone call or a text message without checking the phone. A law enforcement official may interpret checking a phone to be reading a text message. Read an article by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Washington Fortifies Law on Hands-Free Cell Phone Use While Driving

On March 26, Washington became the 6th state to pass a law making it a primary offense to be caught holding a cell phone to your ear while driving.

By making it a primary offense to use a cell phone without a headset while driving, a law enforcement officer can stop any driver seen holding a cell phone to their ear. Previously, this was considered a secondary offense; it could only be enforced if the driver was stopped for another infraction, such as speeding.

The others states passing laws that make talking without a headset a primary offense are California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon. The District of Columbia has also enacted this law. Read more about the law.

The Life-Saving Potential of Technology

A few weeks ago, we were introduced to a new product that is getting some very well deserved media attention. The product is called Zoomsafer, and it's a mobile phone application that works to prevent (or at least discourage) texting and e-mailing while driving. The application installs on your mobile phone, where it detects motion. At this point, it automatically enables a message that will let your callers know that you are driving and temporarily prevents you from texting or e-mailing. The application can even update a user's Facebook and Twitter status.

Why is that important? Consider this: According to a 2006 study by NHTSA and Virgina Tech Transporation Institute: in 80% of crashes and in 65% of near crashes, the driver was distracted within three seconds of the incident. The leading cause of that distraction? Cell phones.

Links to that study and other NHTSA-funded research on driver distraction and fatigue are available here.

And if you're still not convinced that cell phone use (even hands-free) is dangerous, take a look at this article from the New York Times.

Given the size and scope of this problem, which certainly doesn't seem to have gotten better since 2006, Zoomsafer is very exciting piece of technology.

A product demo is available here, and you can see Zoomsafer's CEO Michael Riemer on Fox Business News here.

This is exciting stuff, and MSC is excitedly awaiting the release for Windows Mobile.