It seems to be happening more often: The car next to you
slowly drifts into your lane.
We've all noticed it; maybe we've even been guilty of it.
A wave of new technology is turning our cars into rolling
entertainment centers, tempting drivers to take their eyes off the road while
they push buttons on their dashboard or tap onscreen displays. It is one more
distraction, along with texting and cellphone calls.
"It's maddening when you see someone looking down and
they're butting into your lane," said Amber Witte, who commutes from Palm
Beach County to Plantation during the week. "Your blood pressure rises
when it happens to you, but we've all done it."
When motorists fiddle with their car's gadgets, "they
drive slower than normal and tap on the brakes. They'll sometimes drift off
course," said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky.
Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety, a nonprofit insurer-funded group, said more research should be
available later this year on the impact of new technology on distracted
driving, including new voice-to-text applications.
The Texas Transportation Institute released a study last
week that said sending voice-activated text messages was just as distracting
behind the wheel as texts sent by hand.
Federal data shows accidents associated with distracted
driving lead to 10 deaths and 1,100 injuries every day.
For every mile you drive, it requires 20 separate decisions
to stay on course, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. A driver
traveling at 60 mph who looks away for just a second is essentially moving 88 feet
with their eyes closed. If you're playing with an app on your dash or choosing
music, you could travel the length of a football field without having any idea
what's on the road ahead of you.
Careless driving, a broad category that can include
distracted driving, regularly is among the top causes of fatal crashes in
Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to state traffic-crash data.
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said
25,156 crashes were caused in 2011 because of distracted driving. Wysocky said
the accuracy of those numbers is questionable because a motorist has to admit
to an officer they weren't paying attention.
To help cut down on the problem, the Florida Legislature
this year is poised to ban motorists from texting while driving. A ticket could
cost first-time offenders $30, plus court costs.
The bill exempts the use of phones to check maps and the use
of voice-commands. Drivers would be allowed to text while stopped at a light
and talking on a cellphone would not be restricted.
At the same time, the federal government is proposing
automakers put stronger limits on drivers' use of in-car touch screens. Cars
would be designed to refuse to send texts, tweets or update Facebook while the
vehicle is moving.
Under the proposed federal rules, drivers would still be
able to pull up addresses on a GPS system. But the rules state such tasks
should be accomplished by glancing from the road in two-second spans and by
pushing fewer than seven buttons.
The rules would be voluntary and only apply to systems built
into new cars by manufacturers. They wouldn't apply to existing cars, mobile
devices or voice-activated systems.
"As technology evolves, however, it's clear that
distractions behind the wheel don't end with cell phones," U.S. Transportation
Secretary Roy LaHood wrote on his blog. "These are common sense
guidelines."
But John Saunders, who uses the display in his car to change
music while driving from Broward to Miami, says the new rules would be easy to
get around.
Article Credit: www.sun-sentinel.com
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