Latest Distracted Driving Headlines
All the headlines from our Distracted Driving Topic Page, ordered by recency.
How Cell Phone Use While Driving Is Changing
Jan 28 2019 // Manipulating a cellphone was a contributing factor in more than 800 crash deaths on U.S. roads during 2017 amid a marked increase in the percentage of drivers observed interacting with cellphones, new research by the...
Midwest Legislative Priorities Include No-Fault Auto, Distracted Driving, Contractor Fraud, Tort Reform
Jan 7 2019 // With some of the highest auto insurance rates in the nation, Michigan’s no-fault insurance laws — much maligned by the insurance industry and business interests — are sure to be a target for legislative...
State Laws to Curb Drivers’ Use of Cell Phones Appear to Be Saving Lives of Motorcyclists
Jan 7 2019 // Laws to ban or curb drivers’ use of cell phones and other handheld devices have greatly reduced the rate of fatalities for motorcyclists. States with moderate to strong bans have motorcycle fatality rates that differ...
Southeast Officials Focus on Curbing Fraud, Rising Auto Rates, Flood Insurance, and Distracted Driving
Jan 7 2019 // For the seventh year in a row, the Florida insurance industry, regulators, and consumer advocates will push for reforms to the state’s assignment of benefits issue that has now become an insurance crisis, according...
Distracted Driving Laws Save Motorcyclists’ Lives, Research Finds
Dec 6 2018 // Laws to ban or curb drivers’ use of cell phones and other handheld devices have greatly reduced the rate of fatalities for motorcyclists. States with moderate to strong bans have motorcycle fatality rates that differ...
Ohio State Researchers: Road Design Impacts Distracted Driving Crash Frequency
Nov 21 2018 // A new study from Ohio State University’s Risk Institute reveals road design modifications can reduce the frequency and severity of distracted driving crashes. According to the Property Casualty Insurers Association...
Ohio’s New Distracted Driving Law Now in Effect
Nov 5 2018 // A new Ohio law aimed at cutting down on distracted driving in the state went into effect on Oct. 29. The Ohio Department of Public Safety says House Bill 95 will be a significant distracted driving deterrent and an...
How States Are Battling Distracted Driving
Oct 22 2018 // Like many diligent public servants, Georgia state Representative Ed Setzler enjoys crowing about a nice, tidy highway project. In a Sept. 8 Facebook video, the Republican appeared to be doing just that from behind the...
Study Says New Haven Leads State in Distracted Driving Crashes
Sep 27 2018 // New Haven and Hartford, Conn., lead the state in distracted driving accidents, according to a new study. The Travelers Institute and the Connecticut Safety Research Center say between 2015 and the first half of 2018 there...
Oklahoma Agencies Seeking to Curb Teens’ Distracted Driving
Sep 17 2018 // Several state agencies in Oklahoma, including the insurance department, are working together on an initiative to curtail distracted driving among teenagers. Oklahoma law bans texting and driving but despite that,...
Arizona City Not Waiting for Statewide Ban on Cellphone Use By Drivers
Sep 11 2018 // A new law banning the use of cellphones while driving went into effect in a Phoenix suburb this month, making it the latest city to attempt regulation rather than wait for a state effort. Surprise officials put an...
Curbing Teens’ Distracted Driving Focus of Oklahoma Initiative
Sep 10 2018 // Several state agencies in Oklahoma, including the insurance department, are working together on an initiative to curtail distracted driving among teenagers. Oklahoma law bans texting and driving but despite that,...
First Month of Georgia Cellphone Ban Nets 900 Driver Citations
Aug 8 2018 // A Georgia agency says more than 900 drivers were cited for violating the state’s new law prohibiting handling cellphones behind the wheel during its first month. Georgia on July 1 joined more than a dozen states that...
Nebraska Lawmakers Mull Stricter Texting Ban
Jul 24 2018 // A year after Iowa began cracking down on texting while driving, advocates and lawmakers in Nebraska hope to implement a similar policy. Nebraska and Iowa both banned texting while driving in 2010 but classified the...
Half of Parents Use Cell Phones While Driving with Kids in Car
Jul 13 2018 // About half of parents talk on a cell phone while driving when their children between the ages of 4 and 10 are in the car, while one in three read text messages and one in seven use social media. A new study from a team of...
Females More Likely Than Males to Engage in Distracted Driving
Jul 10 2018 // People who text while driving are six times more likely to be involved in a car crash while those who talk on a mobile device while driving increase their crash risk more than two times. Yet many drivers are still willing...
Colorado Campaigns Aim at Curbing Vehicle-Pedestrian Deaths
Jul 9 2018 // Twice in a week this month in unrelated collisions, cars barreled into pedestrians on East Colfax Avenue, in Aurora, Colorado, killing one man and seriously hurting another. And investigators say those two crashes are far...
More Than 100 Motorists Stopped on First Day of Georgia Hands-Free Law
Jul 6 2018 // State troopers made over a hundred stops enforcing Georgia’s new hands-free driving law Sunday, the first day the law was in effect. Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tracey Watson told WSB-TV the Georgia State...
Georgia Bans Use of Handheld Devices While Driving
Jun 4 2018 // Georgia is the latest state to ban the use of handheld devices while behind the wheel. Gov. Nathan Deal signed H.B. 673 into law on May 2, making Georgia the 16th state to ban using a cellphone, including texting, shooting...
Policymakers Take On Distracted Driving Nationwide
Jun 4 2018 // Over the course of several decades, auto crash rates and fatalities had been on the decline. This reduction offset slightly increased crash severity and helped to moderate the cost of auto insurance. However, starting in...
