U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is quite serious about the need for motorists to focus on, well, driving while they're driving. LaHood had already held one major conference on distracted driving before he convened his second one in Washington, D.C., on September 21, in which he spoke to several hundred bureaucrats, business leaders and safety advocates about the need for auto manufacturers to keep safety preeminent as they install new technologies in vehicles.

The concern is the unquestioned link between a motorist being distracted and a rising incidence of car and other motor vehicle accidents. States have rushed over the past few years to enact tougher laws concerning the use of cell phones and texting while driving, but LaHood says that, while auto makers are on record as supporting bans on texting and hand-held cell phone use, they are introducing new technologies at the same time that continue to distract drivers and undermine roadway safety.

"Together, let's put safety before entertainment," LaHood told his conference audience. The secretary chided the auto industry for "adding technology in vehicles that lets drivers update Facebook, surf the Web or do any number of other things instead of driving safely."

LaHood began the conference by announcing a new law that bans intrastate truckers transporting hazardous waste from sending text messages. Prior to the law, a loophole had existed that allowed them to do so, despite a ban on other  commercial truckers and bus drivers.

Related Resource: www.seattletimes.nwsource.com "Carmakers scolded for adding distractions" September 21, 2010