Latest Distracted Driving Headlines
All the headlines from our Distracted Driving Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Transportation Chief Calls for National Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving
May 7 2012 // U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has called for a federal law to ban talking on a cell phone or texting while driving any type of vehicle on any road in the country. Tough federal legislation is the only way to...
Mass. AG Coakley Advises Teenagers: Don’t Text While Driving
May 4 2012 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and officials from across the country are advising teen drivers to be mindful of the dangers of texting while driving. A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into an...
1000s Ticketed For Using Cellphones While Driving
Apr 30 2012 // Thousands of Nevadans have been ticketed for violating a new state law prohibiting the use of cellphones while driving. According to the Office of Traffic Safety, Las Vegas Metropolitan police issued 2,261 tickets in the...
Alabama Lawmakers Pass Ban on Texting While Driving
Apr 30 2012 // State lawmakers have voted unanimously to make Alabama the 38th state to ban texting while driving. A compromise version of the bill by Republican Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville cleared the House 95-0 and the Senate...
Transportation Chief Calls for National Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving
Apr 27 2012 // U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called on Thursday for a federal law to ban talking on a cell phone or texting while driving any type of vehicle on any road in the country. Tough federal legislation is the only...
Alaska Legislature Passes Ban On Texting While Driving
Apr 17 2012 // The Alaska state Senate passed HB255, a bill that bans texting while driving. The House passed the bill earlier. Lawmakers in 2008 passed legislation intended to ban texting while driving though it didn’t say texting...
Idaho House Lawmakers Pass Texting-While-Driving Ban
Mar 22 2012 // After several tries and frustrating setbacks, Idaho is set to join the majority of states that have toughened laws against sending text messages while driving. House lawmakers voted 53-17 Tuesday to bar motorists from...
Alaska Bill Bans Teens On Cellphones While Driving
Mar 16 2012 // A divided House committee has advanced a bill that would prohibit teens from talking on the phone while driving. Anchorage Democratic Rep. Berta Gardner’s HB128 would allow police to give citations only after someone...
Oklahoma Senate Rejects Phone Ban for Teen Drivers
Mar 15 2012 // The Oklahoma Senate has rejected a proposal that would have prevented teenagers from using cell phones while driving. The Senate voted 22-20 for the bill by Tulsa Republican Brian Crain, falling short of the 25 votes...
West Virginia Passes Ban on Texting While Driving
Mar 13 2012 // West Virginia lawmakers ended their 60-day legislative session over the weekend by passing agreements on fighting methamphetamine labs and targeting distracted drivers. A unanimous Senate vote and an 80-8 vote in the House...
Ban on Texting While Driving in Pennsylvania Goes Into Effect
Mar 8 2012 // A new state law requiring Pennsylvania drivers to pull over and stop if they want to use text-based communications went into effect at midnight Thursday, although it remains legal to use a hand-held cellphone behind the...
Cellphone Driving Ban Nets 27 Violators in Helena
Mar 5 2012 // Police in Helena, Mont. say they have issued 27 citations in a little over a month following a cellphone ban that went into effect in January making it illegal to use hand-held electronic devices while driving or bicycling...
Driver Texting Ban Passes Alabama House, Moves to Senate
Feb 23 2012 // The Alabama House has voted to ban drivers from sending or reading text messages while operating a motor vehicle on Alabama roads. The bill passed the House on a 92-0 vote. It now goes to the Senate for debate. The traffic...
Cellphone Driving Ban Nets 27 Violators in Helena
Feb 22 2012 // Police in Helena say they have issued 27 citations in a little over a month following a cellphone ban making it illegal to use hand-held electronic devices while driving or bicycling within city limits. Lt. Steve Hagen...
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...
