Latest Distracted Driving Headlines
All the headlines from our Distracted Driving Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Thousands of Maryland Drivers Ticketed for Cell Phone Use
Oct 3 2011 // Maryland police agencies have issued thousands of tickets to drivers for using hand-held cellphones behind the wheel in the year since a ban took effect. Records from more than 70 police agencies in the state that...
Push for Ban on Trucker Cellphones
Oct 3 2011 // The U.S. government should ban truckers from using cellphones while driving except in emergencies, transportation safety investigators said. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation came after it...
U.S. Safety Board Pushes for Trucker Cellphone Ban
Sep 14 2011 // The U.S. government should ban truckers from using cellphones while driving except in emergencies, transportation safety investigators said on Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendation came...
North Dakota Ban on Texting While Driving Takes Effect
Aug 2 2011 // North Dakota’s ban on texting while driving is now in effect. More than 30 states so far have approved laws against motorists sending text messages when they’re behind the wheel. Until now in North Dakota, only...
Arkansas Begins ‘Don’t Text While Driving’ Campaign
Jul 18 2011 // Arkansas motorists are about to get a steady stream of reminders that it can be deadly to text while behind the wheel. Digital message boards across the state will bear the message, “Stay Alive, Don’t Text and...
Kentucky Police Say Texting While Driving Law Tough to Enforce
Jul 7 2011 // Kentucky police agencies say the commonwealth’s texting-while-driving statute is well intended, but difficult to enforce. The law took effect a year ago, but officers issued only verbal warnings for the first six...
