Latest Distracted Driving Headlines
All the headlines from our Distracted Driving Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Drivers May Be Unaware of Texting Habit: Study
Oct 8 2012 // Texting while driving is considered a serious public safety concern, but a new University of Michigan study suggests that drivers might not be aware of their actions. U-M researchers found that texting while driving is...
Few Drivers in Alabama Ticketed Under New Texting Ban
Sep 28 2012 // Law officers in some eastern Alabama jurisdictions have yet to issue any citations under the state’s new law banning texting and driving. The law went into effect on Aug. 1. The Anniston Star reported that the...
Drivers May Be Unaware of Texting Habit: Study
Sep 27 2012 // Texting while driving is considered a serious public safety concern, but a new University of Michigan study suggests that drivers might not be aware of their actions. U-M researchers found that texting while driving is...
South Dakota’s Biggest City Bans Texting While Driving
Sep 6 2012 // South Dakota’s biggest city has banned texting while driving. The Sioux Falls City Council voted to make sending and receiving electronic messages while operating a vehicle a crime within city limits. The ordinance...
2 Hurt by Text-Messaging Driver in N.J. Settle Lawsuit
Aug 23 2012 // A couple who each lost a leg when their motorcycle was struck by a teenager who was driving and texting have settled their lawsuit against him for $500,000, their lawyer says. The settlement amount for David and Linda...
Texting South Dakota Driver Pleads Not Guilty to Manslaughter
Aug 15 2012 // A 21-year-old man accused of fatally injuring a motorcyclist while he was speeding and texting has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. Brent O’Neal was indicted by a grand jury on the traffic violations and...
Alabama Bans Texting While Driving Aug. 1
Jul 30 2012 // Starting Wednesday, texting, emailing and instant messaging while driving will become illegal in Alabama, with violators facing fines and possibly higher insurance rates. That is, if they don’t have a wreck...
Texting Driver in South Dakota Charged with Manslaughter
Jul 30 2012 // A man accused of fatally injuring a motorcyclist while he was speeding and texting is facing manslaughter charges in a case that could fuel efforts to ban texting while driving in South Dakota’s largest...
Calif. Drivers Will Be Allowed to Text, With Restrictions
Jul 23 2012 // California drivers will be allowed to text when they’re behind the wheel of a car, as long as they’re using a hands-free device, and with some restrictions. Under a bill recently signed into law by Gov. Jerry...
Calif. Drivers Will Be Allowed To Text, With Restrictions
Jul 16 2012 // California drivers will be allowed to text when they’re behind the wheel of a car, as long as they’re using a hands-free device, and with some restrictions. Under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on...
N.Y. Issued 20,958 Tickets for Texting While Driving During Past Year
Jul 13 2012 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday marked the one year anniversary of the state’s strict law to prevent distracted driving.Gov. Cuomo says the new law has helped law enforcement authorities crack down hard on...
Great Falls, Mont. Bans Cell Phones For Drivers
Jul 6 2012 // Great Falls banned hand-held cell phones for motorists and cyclists, hoping to make navigating the streets of this central Montana town a bit safer from distracted drivers. The Great Falls Tribune reported commissioners...
Cellcontrol, PURE Insurance to Offer Free Distracted Driving Technology to Members
Jun 13 2012 // Cellcontrol, a developer of distracted driving products, has launched a program with specialist member-owned insurer Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) to help prevent distracted driving incidents caused by...
Montana City Considering Cellphone Ban For Drivers
Jun 11 2012 // Officials in Columbia Falls, Mont. are considering a cellphone ban while driving after a man drove into the Flathead River while texting. City Manager Susan Nicosia told the Flathead Beacon that the incident along with...
Connecticut Survey Finds Teens Often Text While Driving
Jun 9 2012 // Connecticut teens have acknowledged in a state survey that they talk and text on their cell phones while driving.Photo credit: the city of Gahanna, Ohio, websiteThe biennial state survey of risky teen behavior was released...
West Virginia Ban on Drivers’ Texting Begins June 1
Jun 7 2012 // The days of legally driving while texting in West Virginia are numbered. A new ban on texting that also targets hands-on cell phone chatter becomes law Friday. It’s among nearly 70 legislative bills taking effect...
Vermont Motorist Texts While Driving, Crashes Into Police Cruiser
May 21 2012 // Vermont police say a 33-year-old motorist was distracted while writing a text message on his cellphone when he crashed into a police car. Vermont State Police say Jesse Clayton crashed into a Rutland police cruiser at...
Survey: Young Drivers Know Risks But Text Anyway
May 21 2012 // Most young American drivers agree that it is dangerous to text while driving, but nearly a third admit they do it anyway, a survey by Consumer Reports shows. While eight in 10 said they knew of the risks, about 29 percent...
Young Drivers Know Risks But Text Anyway: Survey
May 8 2012 // Most young American drivers agree that it is dangerous to text while driving, but nearly a third admit they do it anyway, a survey by Consumer Reports shows. While eight in 10 said they knew of the risks, about 29 percent...
Jury Awards $24M to Woman Hit by Driver in Texas on Phone
May 7 2012 // A Corpus Christi jury awarded $24 million to a woman who was hit by a Coca-Cola truck driver who was chatting on her cellphone. The jury decided to give 37-year-old Vanice Chatman-Wilson $10 million in punitive damages and...
