One of the byproducts of this movement is companies trying to find ways to market to people who are conscious of the distractions, but still want to find a way to communicate while driving. For instance, Picitup developed the smartphone app iOnRoad which offers collision warnings and alerts the driver if they are drifting out of their lane.

Technology continues its march forward, getting smarter and less reliant on our physical interaction. One example is Apple’s new app Siri, which acts as a personal assistant. All you have to do is talk and it will answer questions, make phone calls and text people.

Unfortunately, like any technology (at least in 2012) Siri is not perfect. In fact, some may say it’s flawed. Oregonian writer Joseph Rose recently tested Siri on our typically wet Portland roads, trying to text hands-free while driving. He ran into some difficulties in getting a simple text message sent, trying repeatedly to get the task done. According to Rose, it took him five tries to get a text sent. Not exactly ideal (or safe) when in traffic.

Even if Siri works perfectly for you, there is plenty of evidence showing that hands-free communications is dangerous as well. The problem doesn’t just lie in physically handling a phone while driving, it’s also the conversation itself that is a distraction.

“As long as one activity involves uncertainty about what might be happening next, then you need some spare capacity to have the mental radar to be able to detect those signals and to be able to execute the responses you need in order to deal with them,” said Ray Klein, a Canadian psychology professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Researchers at Dartmouth and the University of Bologna in Italy have developed an app that warns users of approaching vehicles. It has its limitations, the major one being that it only works when the phone is being used on an active call. However, the app’s main reason for development was to help pedestrians who are distracted (talking on their cell phone).

WalkSafe, which was developed by a group led by Andrew Campbell, professor of computer science at Dartmouth and head of the Smartphone Sensing Group, beeps and vibrates when users are in the path of an oncoming vehicle. It can detect vehicles going at least 30 miles an hour and from 50 meters away (164 feet).

The group is currently working on improving the app by speeding up the recognition algorithm. WalkSafe only works on Android phones.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, pedestrian fatalities account for about 12 percent of all traffic fatalities. There are about 4,000 pedestrian deaths each year. The good news is that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says those numbers dropped by seven percent from 2008 to 2009 and by 14 percent since 2000.

A new study out of the UK shows that driving with a cold can be just as bad as driving while under the influence of alcohol. More specifically, the research team found that having a cold may be equivalent to drinking over four double shots of whiskey.

The researchers gave drivers who were experiencing cold symptoms computerized tests. What they found was that suffering from a cold resulted in diminished reaction times and trouble properly navigating curves and braking in a timely manner. Overall, the researchers estimate about a 50 percent drop in driving ability.

There are physical impairments. This would include sneezing, coughing and watery eyes that could make drivers veer or otherwise navigate the roads improperly. Then there are mental impairments. A person’s mood can affect their driving along with being tired or on cold medicine.

“Commencing a journey in such a state would certainly be irresponsible and could be held as an aggravating factor in any accident that lead to a death or serious injury, turning a careless act into a dangerous one,” wrote Steve Rounds of the Central Motorway Police Group in England.

Washington State Trooper Keith Leary thinks the study should be a wake-up call to those who are sick and don’t have to be behind the wheel.

“You should be evaluating yourself,” he said. “Can I drive safely while I’m feeling as ill as I am?”

Starting this month, all Oregon drivers have to put their cell phones down when behind the wheel. If you are stopped by police for using your phone, work is no longer a viable excuse. While the exception may have been put into the law to protect law enforcement and medical professionals who use phones in emergency situations and are required as part of their job, it turned into a loophole that many others ended up exploiting. The new law will still allows emergency responders and roadside assistance workers to use hand-held cellphones. All drivers can still use hands-free devices.

Federal Crack Down Hits Commercial Drivers

The federal government has used its authority over interstate commerce to place a ban on handheld cellphone use by all commercial drivers, including truck and bus drivers. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the new law will affect about four million commercial drivers.

While these are welcomed changes in the law, it’s not a magic wand that will erase all distracted driving. Citizens need to understand the dangers and change their habits.

“How many more lives will be lost before we, as a society, change our attitudes about the deadliness of distractions?” asks National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Debbie Hersman.

According to the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2010, more than 3,000 people died in crashes that were attributed to distracted driving.

Picitup CEO Alon Atsmon readily admits that not only are 20 percent of traffic crashes caused by distracted driving, but it’s one of the few accident causes on the rise. The main reason for this is the use of smartphones while driving.

So what does Atsmon propose? Use your smartphone, logically.

“We offer a smarter way to solve the problem – not by recommendations and bans but through the smartphone,” says Atsmon.

The iOnRoad app offers collision warnings, and an alert if you drift out of your lane. There’s also an option to have your phone read text messages aloud and automatically start the speakerphone feature when you get a call.

In order to have the app work, you mount your phone on your dash or windshield like a GPS so it can use the phone’s camera to monitor your lanes and distance from other vehicles.

“Let’s take this number one problem and turn it into the number one solution,” says Atsmon. “Our approach is to turn the smartphone into a collision warning system.”

Since you don’t have to look at your phone to get the warnings, this aspect of the app seems like it can be useful, though it also seems like if you understand traffic safety and aren’t falling asleep at the wheel you shouldn’t need a warning that you are drifting out of your lane or are too close to another vehicle.

The help with texting and an automated speaker phone is not as safe, since research shows that even hands-free phone use is a serious distraction risk.

Lucky for you, federal law has your back. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), your company must provide a safe workplace for its employees. You don’t have to wait for something bad to happen, though. If you see conditions that warrant reasonable concern for you and your fellow workers’ safety, you can file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The agency will then conduct an investigation and fine the company if there are any legitimate safety violations.

Most people think about these situations in terms of workers’ compensation cases that involve their direct employer. But if you work on a construction site where some work is subcontracted out, that subcontractor must also obey the laws associated with workplace safety.

What is “Protected Concerted Activity”?

Whether you are union or a nonunion worker, you can refuse to take part in work if you fear it is unsafe. When two or more employees do this it is referred to in legal terms as protect concerted activity. A single employee can take action as well if they are acting on authority of other employees.

Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), you are given the right to join with other employees (even if it’s not in a formal union setting) to ensure safe working conditions.

Most employees are protect under the NLRA, but there are some exceptions:

- If you are employed by federal, state, or local government
- If you work as an agricultural laborer
- If you work in the domestic service of any person or family in a home
- If you are employed by a parent or spouse
- If you are employed as an independent contractor
- If you work for a company subject to the Railway Labor Act (railroads, airlines)
- If you work for a person who is not an employer as defined in the NLRA

While the NLRA sets out to protect workers’ safety, in reality it also acts as a bit of protection for employers from potential lawsuits. If dangers are addressed beforehand and accidents are prevented in the first place, it’s a positive for all involved.

It’s unfortunate that many of those people who take the cause up with passion have been immediately touched by the tragedy associated with distracted driving. And tragedy doesn’t get any more heart-wrenching than the story of two-year-old Anna Brulotte of Bellingham, Washington.

On September 30, 2010, Anna and siblings Alice, 9, and Sam, 7, were with their mother Melissa as they crossed the street in a school zone. That’s when a distracted teen driver caused a two-car accident that killed Anna instantly.

While Melissa is bit reluctant about taking up the cause, one can assume there is a bit of therapy in sharing your story and trying to make a difference.

Not long after the accident, Melissa joined a group at the state capitol in Olympia to testify on behalf of enhancing penalties against drivers who injure “vulnerable users” of roads, such as bicyclists and pedestrians.

She also started the Anna Brulotte Memorial Foundation which raises money for grants for programs that promote safer school zones and for local law enforcement agencies to target dangerous drivers.

“It’s hard to do it, because it’s so emotional. But the drum has to be beat,” said Melissa.

As for the 17-year-old who was responsible for the accident, she was sentenced to 30 days in a juvenile facility. She also has to serve a year under community supervision and must do 150 hours of community service, including public presentations about her experience.

That time will fly by in comparison to having to live with the emotion and guilt for the rest of her life.

There are various reasons for this, mostly due to the truck driver’s behavior, such as cell phone use, the pressures associated with meeting deadlines, and the long hours they put in each day on the road.

In an effort to improve current road safety standards, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed a reduction in the number of hours that truck drivers are allowed to drive each day. Currently, trucking companies can require their drivers to be on the road for up to 11 hours in a 21 hour period. Over an eight day period, truck drivers can drive up to 88 hours, which is more than many people’s work time over a two week span!

According to FMCSA-sponsored studies, nearly 48 percent of drivers admitted they have fallen asleep while driving in the previous year. Think about that for a second: nearly every other truck driver admits to being unconscious at some point while driving! Thirteen percent of those surveyed admitted that it happened more than once (“sometimes” or even “often”). About 45 percent of drivers said they sometimes or often had trouble staying awake while driving and 65 percent reported they at least occasionally felt drowsy while driving.

When you consider the fact that these numbers come directly from the drivers’ mouths, it’s clear that driver fatigue continues to be a major safety problem that needs to be addressed.

While the NTSB has no legislative power, it does hold the power of persuasion, making it difficult for legislators to ignore. On the heels of recent senseless and tragic deadly distracted driving car crashes, federal safety investigators are urging action now.

“States aren’t ready to support a total ban yet, but this may start the discussion,” said Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association.

However, according to the Associated Press, a group that represents state highway safety offices referred to as a the recommendation “game-changer.”

One of the more striking examples of distracted driving happened last year, when a 19-year-old truck driver was found to have texted 11 times in 11 minutes before causing a deadly highway pileup near Gray Summit, Missouri. Two people died and 38 were injured.

Recent high-profile cases show that these problems extend to commercial drivers as well. For instance, an investigation is underway regarding a train crash that happened when the engineer was texting. The accident killed 25 people in Chatsworth, California.

Here is a brief breakdown of the current state laws regarding distracted driving:

• There are 35 states, plus the District of Columbia, that ban texting while driving.
• Nine states and Washington D.C. bar hand-held cellphone use.
• Thirty states ban all cellphone use for “beginning drivers.”
• No states ban the use of hands-free devices for all drivers.

Given the fact that there is expected to be a 20 percent increase in commercial trucks on the nation’s roadways in 2012, something needs to be done.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division of the Department of Transportation, has partnered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to analyze the causes of truck accidents. What they found was that a major cause in truck accidents is driver behavior.

The FMCSA took a sample of 963 truck accidents from the 120,000 that occurred between April 2001 and December 2003. There were 243 fatalities and 1,654 injuries.

The study found there were three “critical events,” or something that put the commercial truck on an unavoidable path to the accident:

- The truck ran out of its lane (off the road or into another lane)
- The driver lost control of the truck
- The truck collided with the rear of another vehicle in its lane

The study defined “critical reasons” as what caused the critical events. They broke them down into three categories: the driver, vehicle, or environment.

Of the 963 accidents, 55 percent were caused by the truck as opposed to other vehicles or pedestrians. With those found to be the truck’s fault, 87 percent were due to driver behavior. The biggest reason for truck accidents was the drivers’ decisions, at 38 percent. Twenty-eight percent of accidents in the study were the result of distracted driving, which includes cell phone use or any other distraction, be it in or outside the vehicle.

The FMCSA presented its findings to Congress, including critical issues the FMSCA must focus on to reduce future commercial truck accidents.