Latest Distracted Driving Headlines

All the headlines from our Distracted Driving Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Philly Boat Crash Intensifies Distracted Driving Debate

Jul 4 2011 // The nation risks a surge in deadly accidents unless it makes distracted driving – talking, texting and surfing the Internet while operating cars, boats and trains – as taboo as drunken driving, members of the...

Rhode Island Senate Passes Seat Belt, Cell Phone Driver Bills

Jun 27 2011 // The Rhode Island Senate has advanced two bills on driver safety, one boosting seat belt enforcement and another banning young drivers from using cell phones while behind the wheel.The cell phone proposal would make it...

Texas Governor Vetoes Texting While Driving Bill

Jun 20 2011 // Texas Gov. Rick Perry vetoed 23 bills on June 17, including legislation that would have outlawed sending or reading text messages while driving.Lawmakers approved the texting ban last month, but Perry called it an...

Employers Look the Other Way On Distracted Driving

Jun 20 2011 // A recent survey appears to confirm that there is growing concern among corporate managers about distracted driving risks and liability. Fifty percent of companies with more than 500 drivers said they have knowledge or...

New York Governor Wants Tougher Penalty for Texting Drivers

Jun 13 2011 // Drivers who text behind the wheel in New York now run little risk of being pulled over by the police, but that would change under a proposal by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.The governor said Friday that he plans to introduce a bill...

Nevada OSHA Encourages Employers to Ban Texting While Driving

Jun 3 2011 // The Nevada Occupational Health & Safety Section (OSHA) of the Division of Industrial Relations is hoping to stop one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving. That’s why it is encouraging employers to...

Employers Looking Other Way On Employees’ Distracted Driving

Jun 2 2011 // A recent survey confirms that there is growing concern among corporate managers about distracted driving risks and liability. Fifty percent of companies with more than 500 drivers said they have knowledge or evidence of...

Delaware: 2,500 Drivers Cited Since Cell Phone Ban Began

May 5 2011 // The Delaware Office of Highway Safety says more than 2,500 drivers have been cited since the state’s hands-free cell phone law went into effect at the beginning of the year. Office spokeswoman Alison Kirk says more...

North Dakota Becomes 31st State to Ban Texting While Driving

Apr 28 2011 // North Dakota the 31st state to ban texting behind the wheel, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood who praised North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple for signing a new law banning the practice.The new law,...

9% of Californians Talk or Text While Driving

Apr 21 2011 // About 9 percent of California drivers talk or text on their cell phone while driving — despite state laws that prohibit such actions.In the first-ever observational survey of cell phone use by drivers within a state,...

Alabama House Votes to Ban Texting While Driving

Apr 4 2011 // The Alabama House is making a second attempt to ban texting while drivingThe House voted 86-2 last Thursday for legislation sponsored by Republican Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville. He got a similar bill passed last year,...

Crackdown on Distracted Drivers Under Way in Connecticut

Mar 30 2011 // Police in Connecticut are bolstering patrols this week to look for distracted drivers as part of a federal pilot program.Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and police officials announced the fourth and final enforcement wave of the...

North Carolina Debates More Fines on Drivers Using Cell Phones

Mar 25 2011 // North Carolina lawmakers already have banned young drivers from using cell phones and everyone else from texting or emails while behind the wheel. Now they’re considering whether to go further. A commerce committee...

Oklahoma Senate Approves Ban on Texting While Driving

Mar 17 2011 // The full Senate has given its support to a bill that would make it illegal to text while driving. State Sen. Jerry Ellis is the author of Senate Bill 146 which was approved on a vote of 32 to 9.“This isn’t a...

Bill Banning Texting While Driving Advances in Oklahoma

Mar 7 2011 // Under legislation approved by a House committee, beginner drivers could face hefty fines and possibly lose their driving privileges if caught texting while driving.Rep. Danny Morgan’s measure, House Bill 1316, will...

New York Drivers Will Get Points for Talking on Cell Phones

Mar 7 2011 // New York drivers who are caught talking on their cell phones without a headset will gain two points on their driving records — which means higher insurance costs.Previously, no points were assigned for talking on a cell...

Idaho Bill Says Driving & Texting OK, As Long As Driver Isn’t Distracted

Mar 1 2011 // An Idaho House representative has proposed a bill to allow people to text and drive — as long as they’re not distracted. House Bill 141, proposed by Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, says no person operating a...

South Carolina Debates Fine for Texting While Driving

Feb 23 2011 // People convicted of texting and driving will have to pay a $45 in fines under legislation that is up for debate in a South Carolina Senate committee.The Senate Judiciary Committee is discussing a measure that requires a...

New York Drivers Will Get Points for Talking on Cell Phones

Feb 15 2011 // Beginning tomorrow, New York drivers who are caught talking on their cell phones without a headset will gain two points on their driving records — which means higher insurance costs.The New York Department of Motor...

Arkansas Senate to Take Up Cell Phone While Driving Restrictions

Feb 3 2011 // The Senate is looking at banning drivers from using handheld cell phones in school and highway work zones, going a step further than a similar ban that passed the House this week. The Senate is considering a proposal by...