NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines: For Smartphones, the Future Is Now

For the first time in history, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed new federal guidelines designed to encourage automobile manufacturers to minimize the risk of driver distraction associated with in-vehicle electronic devices.

“The guidelines we are proposing offer real-world guidance to automakers to help them develop electronic devices that provide features consumers want—without disrupting a driver’s attention or sacrificing safety,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland in a press release.

NHTSA’s message to auto manufacturers is simple:

  • NHTSA is concerned about the effects of distraction due to drivers’ use of electronic systems and devices in motor vehicles
  • NHTSA is asking for voluntary compliance with guidelines to minimize excessively distracting systems and devices in vehicles.

NHTSA’s guidelines focus primarily on “visual-manual” driver distractions – including phone dialing, texting messaging or web-browsing via in-vehicle connected systems – to limit how much time drivers’ hands are off wheels and their eyes are off the road. Specifically, for certain types of systems (e.g. navigation) and certain secondary tasks (e.g. typing in destination by hand), the guidelines recommend that such systems be designed so that they become disabled while driving, and only available for the driver’s use when “the vehicle is stopped and the transmission lever is in park.”

For other types of systems (e.g. radio) and related secondary tasks (e.g. changing stations) the guidelines recommend that such systems be designed so that tasks can be completed while driving with glances away from the roadway of two seconds or less and a cumulative time spent glancing away from the roadway of 12 seconds or less.

NHTSA hopes these guidelines will be just “phase one” of a broader effort to combat distracted driving — and it anticipates a “phase two” addressing mobile phones and other ‘nomadic’ devices, including increasingly-popular tablet computers. “Phase three” could see voice-activation guidelines for any electronic device that could be used in a car – whether factory-installed, after-market or portable.

Fortunately, there’s no need to wait for NHTSA to announce “phase two” – we already offer innovative software which integrates in-vehicle data to automatically promote safe, legal and hands-free use of cell phones while driving. For companies whose employee drivers carry smartphones, at least, the future of in-vehicle cell phone use is already here. Request a free, online demo today to see why!

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[White Paper] 27% of FMCSA Fleets Plan to Evaluate Technology Solutions for Hand-Held Phone Ban Compliance

Over the past month, we’ve been conducting a survey to assess how FMCSA-regulated fleet operators are reacting now that they’re required to ensure employee don’t use hand-held mobile phones while driving. After surveying over 550 fleet operators, we’ve compiled the results – and the data is fascinating.

The majority of fleets lack confidence in their current efforts to manage employee cell phone use while driving – fewer than one-third (33.1%) said that they are “very confident” that reactive methods like peer reporting and post-crash discipline will be enough to ensure employees comply with the hand-held ban. As a result of that lack in confidence, over a quarter (27%) plan to evaluate technology solutions to foster compliance with the FMCSA’s cell phone rules.

Click through this slideshow for a summary of the survey results, then download a free copy of the detailed analysis!

 

FMCSA Phone Ban Survey Summary Results

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[Guest Post] What’s the Safest Way to Control Traffic – Traffic Lights or Rounabouts?

In the U.S., most large intersections are controlled by traffic lights while in the U.K., roundabouts are much more prevalent.  In recent years, however, traffic lights have gained increasing favour with planners and government organizations, which believe that they have a better impact on traffic flow and safety than roundabouts. Many regular road users, however, disagree and continue to prefer the familiar roundabout over the frustration they experience when navigating traffic junctions controlled by lights.

Drivers rely on traffic-controlling measures to keep motor vehicles moving safely. In the absence of appropriate traffic control measures, road accident claims rise as driving becomes a free-for-all without any clear indication of who has right of way. So which is safer – roundabouts or traffic lights?

Pros and cons for roundabouts, which control traffic by slowing it down, moving it in one direction and determining who has right of way:

  • PRO: Ideal for low-speed, low-volume junctions that have reasonably balanced flows in each direction
  • PRO: Do not cause delays for red lights; drivers can proceed at-will when they have a clear path (depending on number of other vehicles)
  • CON: Can fail to control traffic appropriately when flow is much greater in one direction than another (difficult for drivers to enter)
  • CON: Do not adapt to traffic flows’ change over time in response to development, which can substantially impact how traffic moves through a given area

And for traffic lights, which alternately assign right of way to different directional flows of traffic:

  • PRO: Ideal for high-volume, high-speed traffic (e.g. exiting motorways – or highways for you Yanks) – able to move significant volumes of traffic safely through densely-populated areas
  • PRO: Require less space than roundabouts although they are more expensive, requiring a greater level of maintenance
  • CON: Need sophisticated co-ordination and control to ensure that traffic is able to move freely and to avoid bottlenecks
  • CON: Can cause annoyance or even serious safety issues if lights don’t properly respond to traffic flow – drivers get annoyed and start to take risks

Traffic congestion and motor crashes are a significant problem in many areas. When it comes to control measures, both roundabouts and traffic lights have their advantages and disadvantages. The most appropriate solution for any given area will depend on its particular features. In the U.S., for example, traffic lights predominate as they’re better-suited for controlling the heavy volumes of cars typical of modern American roadways.

Neither type of control measure is perfect and, as areas and flows of traffic change, the need to review the existing system can often become apparent. And while governments and auto OEMs explore technology to make traffic control measures safer – neither traffic lights nor roundabouts are much protection against the many distracted drivers out on the road.

About this guest author: This guest post has been written by Denver Burke on behalf of Ead Solicitors. He has been writing articles and content on a variety of topics across the web and is hoping to share his enthusiasm and knowledge on the subject.

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Distracted Driving Fact: Adults Pose 20x More Risk Than Teens

Last week, we laid out five key reasons why distracted driving is not just a “teen driver” problem.

Today, I want to dig a little deeper into the stats which prove that adults are a bigger problem than teens when it comes to distracted driving.

To start, let’s take a look at some teen distracted driving facts:

Next, let’s look at some adult driving facts:

Having compared the relevant distracted driving facts, it’s easy to see how and why adult distracted drivers pose 20x more risk than teens do.

And if we as a society really want to keep teens safe while they’re on the road – we have to recognize the danger by all the adult distracted drivers with whom they share the roads.

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Attention Truck Fleets: FMCSA Cell Phone Restrictions Swing into Effect

Beginning this month, commercial truck carriers will notice that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has updated the safety ‘snapshot’ it uses for its Unsafe Driving BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) to include violations reflected in the agency’s new cell phone regulations. That rule which came into effect January 3, 2012, prohibits commercial drivers from using hand-held mobile phones while driving.

Here’s a summary of the changes:

Added Carrier SMS Unsafe Driving BASIC Violations

Section

Violation Shown on Roadside Inspection Report

Violation Group Description

Violation Severity Weight
177.804(b) Failure to comply with 49 CFR 392.80 – Texting while Oper a CMV – Placardable HM Texting 10
177.804(c) Fail to comply with 392.82 – Using Mobile Phone while Oper a CMV – HM Phone Call 10
392.80(a) Driving a commercial motor vehicle while texting Texting 10
392.82(a)(1) Using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a CMV Phone Call 10
392.82(a)(2) Allowing or requiring driver to use a hand-held mobile tel while operating a CMV Phone Call 10

 

For anyone familiar with these rules, note that cell phone violations are weighted with a 10 — which is serious as it gets.

Because of the FMCSA regulations the new hand-held phone ban modifies, it automatically became part of the Unsafe Driving BASIC when it came into effect last month, so violations have both financial and CSA implications. Specifically adding these five cell phone violations to the safety ‘snapshot’ it sends to motor carriers shows how seriously the FMCSA is taking this new rule.

To minimize the impact of these news rules on your business — learn how you can automatically promote safe and legal use of cell phones while your employees are driving on the job.

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