"When it comes to safety, this DOT is holding firm," says Ray LaHood.
If you want an example of the unhealthy influence of money in “pay to play” Washington, look no further than the past head of the National Transportation Safety Board.
In a memo obtained by FairWarning and published on its website, Jim Hall, the former NTSB head (and then a hired spokesperson for Ford during the Firestone tire controversy), is being promoted as the lead spokesperson in an effort to stop the growing movement to regulate the devices that cause Distracted Driving.
The fact that such a lobbying proposal exists – it is called Drivers for Responsibility, Innovation and Vehicle Education or DRIVE – is deeply concerning to advocates of getting money out of politics in revolving door Washington where regulators routinely lobby their former agencies. (Click here for the DRIVE proposal) DOT itself is under criticism for hiring former Toyota employees who then allegedly ignored a growing number of unintended acceleration complaints at former employer Toyota.
DD is without question a deadly automotive safety epidemic – causing 5,000 to 6,000 deaths and more than 500,000 injuries annually, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Moreover, Illinois Republican Ray LaHood, the head of the Department of Transportation that NHTSA is part of, is an outspoken critic of the growing use of cell phones and other electronic devices that are the root cause of the problem.
LaHood is pushing hard for regulatory and other solutions at the state level, since NHTSA does not have the statutory authority under its Congressional authorization to regulate DD on a national basis.
In addition, Congress is showing no interest, to put it mildly, on telling voters to stop using cell phones during an election year when all incumbents face ousting from angry voters.
Moreover, the auto companies have their own conflicts of financial interest in this area, as they compete with each other to add more electronic devices to equipment lists. (See BMW to Offer Incoming E-Mail With Voice Output)
This latest special interest effort to shift the focus away from regulation toward “education” rather than banning electronic devices demonstrates how far along automakers are with integrating personal electronics into vehicles. It also shows how far behind government safety regulators are dealing with the problem, according to safety advocates.
LaHood came out of his DOT corner swinging late this morning in what was no surprise here given LaHood’s consistency and passion for this deadly issue. Jim Hall also refuted the effort, although it wasn’t clear if he was originally part of the DRIVE effort. And so did the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which recognized the controversial nature of such a lobbying effort by the nascent DRIVE coalition. The Alliance is in favor of hands-free cell phone use, which in some studies is called the equivalent of drunken while intoxicated (DWI), though.
“Late last week, the DOT and other safety groups became aware of a new lobbying push to undermine efforts to combat texting and talking on cell phones while driving,” DOT said in its media advisory.
It went on to say that Secretary LaHood and the other officials would respond and talk about the importance of stopping distracted driving by continuing to raise awareness, stepping up enforcement and enacting tough laws.
“DOT’s commitment to safety is unequivocal,” LaHood said when he took the podium this morning.
“Some people think they can text or talk on the phone and still drive safely. You cannot do it,” LaHood said.
“When you look at your Blackberry for four seconds, you are driving the length of a football field without watching the road. And when you talk on your cell phone, you tell your brain it’s okay to devote your primary attention to something other than your driving,” LaHood continued.
“Yet we see this every day. We are a nation of cell phone users, and we’ve all used these devices while driving. But, when we think about it–when we read about the deaths and when we see the data–we understand that it’s wrong,” concluded LaHood.
“The only effort I’m going to have anything to do with is to support Secretary LaHood and these safety advocates,” said Hall.
They were joined by Janet Froetscher, head of the National Safety Council, who said, “Cell phone use behind the wheel is by far the cause of the most distracted driving crashes. It’s a deadly combination of high risk–cell phone drivers are four times more likely to crash– and high saturation–70% of American drivers have their cell phones with them. Cell phone use is a factor in 28% of all motor vehicle crashes, in 1.6 million crashes each year.”
NSC wants all cell phone use in cars banned.
After the press conference, the group behind the DRIVE proposal said it would drop it. As Oliver Wendell Holmes once asserted – sunshine is the best of disinfectants.
“Certainly most of the attention has been on texting and driving, but there are a host of other distractions including cell phone calls (both handheld and hands-free) as well as more traditional ones such as eating, adjusting the radio, using the CD player or talking to passengers. Drivers need to be reminded to manage these distractions safely,” said Vernon F. Betkey, Jr., Chairman, Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) at today’s press conference.
Betkey noted that states are reacting quickly to driver distraction — 30 have banned texting for all drivers – 10 so far in 2010. As more data and research become available, he expects states to continue to act. For a full list of state laws regulating texting and cell phone use while driving, see: www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html.
“State highway safety agencies are committed to addressing driver distraction through a comprehensive approach including laws, education, enforcement, employer policies and the use of technology. Just two weeks ago, GHSA released a new report detailing state distracted driving countermeasures. The report shows that states are implementing many strategies to begin to turn the tide against distraction. The report is online at www.ghsa.org/html/publications/survey/index.html.
So the battle lines are now clearly drawn. This is going to make for some tough debates and behind the scenes maneuvering going forward at the state level.