Despite recent passage of a texting-while-driving ban in Massachusetts, anyone who spends even a short time on the Bay State’s roads will see drivers using increasingly common and sophisticated cell and smart phones while behind the wheel. The national conversation over the safety issues associated with that trend will likely be influenced in the coming months by a National Transportation Safety Board vote on Tuesday calling for a nationwide ban on driver use of personal electronic devices. Citing an “exponential” increase in such devices, the board is calling on all 50 states to implement a ban on motorist use of non-emergency portable electronic devices and a high-visibility enforcement campaign. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,000 people died in 2010 in”distraction-related accidents,” including two people in a multi-vehicle pileup on Aug. 5, 2010 on Interstate 44 in Missouri. Investigators determined that a pickup driver who triggered the accident when he rear-ended a truck-tractor had sent and received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes before the accident, which also caused 38 injuries. In a statement, NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman said, “It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices while driving. No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life.” –State House News Service
