Houston, TX (PressExposure) May 08, 2010 -- This April's federal Department of Transportation distracted driving pilot programs in Hartford, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y. demonstrated clearly that increased law enforcement efforts can help combat distracted driving, according to Houston car accident attorney Jim Adler.
The week-long enforcement campaigns, dubbed "Phone in One Hand. Ticket in the Other," were the first federally funded efforts in the country to focus on the effects of increased enforcement and public advertising in reducing distracted driving. Drivers caught texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone were pulled over and ticketed.
From April 8 to 17, high-visibility enforcement began in the Syracuse metropolitan area, while the crackdown in the Hartford metropolitan area ran from April 10 through 16.
Results just beginning to be released are sobering news for law enforcement, insurance carriers, hospitals, attorneys and anyone else involved in the aftermath of a car accident, including, of course, the families of victims.
DOT Secretary Ray LaHood reported that Hartford police cited well over 2,000 drivers for using cell phones and 200 more for texting while driving in a single week. Results from Syracuse are to be released shortly.
In addition to these findings, Secretary LaHood described the results of a new Pew Research Center Poll which found:
Over half of teens aged between 16 and 17 report they've talked on the phone while driving; Over a third admit to texting behind the wheel; Nearly half of all youths aged 12-17 report they've been in a car while the driver was texting.
"Regardless of the extent to which laws are enforceable, it's vital to send a clear message to all drivers that texting and cell calls are dangerous and can cause catastrophic car accidents. Then, to a large extent, the public must police itself, curb those calls and 'hang up and drive,'" said Houston car accident attorney Jim Adler.
National studies are finding that cell phone usage is rapidly becoming one of the leading causes of car crash fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that in 2008, nearly 6,000 people were killed in car crashes that involved cell phone use while driving and that 80% of all car crashes are related to driver inattention and that cell phones are the number one culprit.