UN chief calls for global action against mobile phone use while driving

The most gratifying headline I woke up to this morning was in the Student Operated Press, "UN Chief Ban Ki-moon: Phone use while driving kills."

His exact words at the UN yesterday?

"We are seeing a major emerging challenge of driver distraction, mainly by using mobile phones. Together we have a message to all drivers of the world--don't let using a mobile for a few seconds make you and others immobile for life."

Helping spread this important message goes far beyond the fact that Secretary General Ban issued a directive prohibiting UN employees from texting while driving UN vehicles.

Although, that was also huge. As US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said, "We're here today to shine a spotlight on a problem that affects us all. Texting while driving isn't a harmless habit; it's a killer."

But, as Jennifer Smith, founder and president of FocusDriven, added yesterday:

"This is not just about texting. It's about all cell phone use behind the wheel."

And that's why Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin made it clear yesterday that measures to combat the epidemic of distracted driving will be included in the action plan being prepared by the World Health Organization and other UN agencies for a UN Decade of Action on Road Safety due to run from 2011 to 2020.

It was kind of Ambassador Churkin to say, "We appreciate the initiative of the United States in launching a great initiative on distracted driving." But our initiative alone cannot turn back this deadly behavior around the world.

We need the world's drivers to hear the message that you cannot text or talk on the phone and drive safely--you just can't do it.

Drivers in the US are only beginning to learn this. We are right at the place where America was with .08 and drunk driving and seat belt use when those campaigns first started.

Some of the world's nations are far ahead of us on this. Portugal, for example, bans all cell phone use while driving, including hands-free. Thirty-two other nations, like 25 US states and the District of Columbia, have anti-texting laws or handheld phone bans.

But others--like some states right here in the US--offer their citizens no such road safety protections.

I hope this global call will change that. But DOT can't control how our states and other countries legislate. We can help educate and raise awareness--a key step toward changing dangerous behavior--and you can rest assured we are on the job.

I want to thank everyone who joined us online to watch yesterday's activity at the UN. And I want to thank the thousands who participated in our Twitter and Facebook supporting campaigns. I am so heartened by that outpouring of support, and I am pleased to let you know that those campaigns reached millions around the world.

Now, that's the kind of combined effort that changes unsafe behavior.

But, we can still use your help. Tell your friends, and tell your families what Secretary General Ban said yesterday. Tell them that driver distraction kills.

UN Secretary General meets distracted driving crash survivor and FocusDriven board member Jacy Good

Comments

[Jay Anderson]

www.sajd.org - Stay Alive .... Just Drive! , Inc. has been actively and aggressively educating the public regarding the dangers of distracted and unsafe driving since 2006.

[Michael E. Bailey]

Great news that people are finally starting to take distracted driving seriously. Education on this issue will count for alot as will legisaltion. There was another incident in a California surface limestone mine up by Bakersfield involving large tandom trailer trucks and a person with a cell phone. The person with the phone was inspecting gypsom that had been unloaded but was busy on the phone whena truck started coming down the service road to leave the mine; he walked across the road and stood between the back of the front trailer and front of the rear trailer. This is a blind spot. So when the second driver started his truck to go and unload gypsom, the 2 left front tires of the rear trailer ran over the person talking on the cell phone. The driver of the first truck radioed the second driver to stop but by then the person was already dead under the second trailer with his cell phone. The second truck was not going faster than 3mph, but the rear trailer weighed 50,000 pounds. Don't use cell phones when driving vehicles. And don't use them near moving vehicles except in emergencies because you can be paying more attention to the call than what you should be doing and be dead. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[Centre recyclage]

Did you know that 80% of car accidents in the US are due to inattentive drivers who spend more time talking on the cell phones while driving.

[chat lines]

USA has been leader in banning driving while using mobile telephone to phone chat. But as importantly he really needs to get rid of cigarette smoking like USA leading the effort and the rest of the world is way behind.

[Water Treatment]

"Unacceptable in the eyes of the law and the public," Ban said. "I want every driver in the world to get the message texting while driving kills."

Boiler Treatment

[Phone Recycle Bank]

It's great that people are now taking this issue seriously. Using mobile phones when driving is certainly distracting and does indeed cost lives. It is indeed great to see the UN and other bodies of authority raising this issue and hopefully ending it once and for all.

[Boiler]

Authorities have long been none too impressed quite a few drivers being able to both talk and drive, claiming that such a situation can lead to increased accidents and citing study after study that they claim proves the facts. While experts may never know precisely how these situations affect us, the laws themselves are getting much harsher in many parts of the world, in particular, areas where the iPhone is especially popular.
Boiler

[Boiler]

The industry is beginning to fight back against the laws and releasing a myriad of hands free devices that allow for drivers to make even more use of their phones.

[Zetaclear]

Every year, more than 1.2 million people die on the roads around the world, and as many as 50 million others are injured. ... Studies indicate that using a mobile phone increases the risk of a crash by about 4 times. And yet in some countries up to 90 percent of people use mobile phones while driving. We must instil [sic] a culture of road safety.
Zetaclear

[Cell Phone Lookup]

It's virtually impossible to drive without being interrupted by a cell phone that is left on. And for those who don't use a headset or use voice recognition dialing, I believe the chances of an accident are that much higher. But even then, the conversation itself is distracting to a driver. I applaud any efforts to make the roads safer by restricting cell phone use.

[College Entrance Essays]

Say "no" to talking while driving. Or just buy a hands-free, ok? Seriously, you will not be able to track anyone talking on his/her phone while driving. If we will be able to track it, how will you prove it in court?

Mike

[Alcachofa]

I read that the human brain is best (most efficient) when focused on singular task versus multiple task because when you shift focus back and forth from task to task your mind has to subconsciously recreate the 'rules' of each task.

So many people get into accidents without being distracted by texting or talking on the phone.. when they do their chances of accidents are much higher. I'm glad that governments are pushing for this. I hope that it will help spread awareness and save lives.

[essay help]

"The US Government take a sufficient steps to banned the mobile phones during driving because I see people all the time talking on cell phones and it causes a big distraction, much bigger then changing a station on the radio etc. Comparing it to a professional driver using a CB is ridiculous. Take a second to actually look for cell phone drivers and pay attention to the way they drive People on the highway driving 45 or 50 in a 60 plus zone. This is a law that will cut down on accidents."

[essay help]

This topic is really very sensitive and often people give negligence to it all though it's not a joke but people takes as a joke one thing which i want to share with you that a study showed that the part of the brain that controls vision becomes less active when people focus on something visually while having a conversation -- underscoring the hazards of talking on your cell phone while driving. Human factors experts say hands-free phones do not lower risk. Drivers on the phone are four times more likely to have accidents i hope the reader of the blogs must take it serious because life is very precious.

[essay writing]

With constant technological advances and the increased need to be mobile, cell phone use while driving should be not become yet another citation. An attempt to legally prohibit this type of driver distraction infringes on the personal rights of motorists. Being on the other end of a cell phone traffic ticket may negatively reflect on your driver record and can increase your insurance premiums. This law is just not enforceable. How will officials know if the driver is texting or changing a song on an MP3 player? Holding a conversation on a cell phone while driving is no more distracting than being engaged with a passenger or rowdy kids in the back seat, eating fast food or messing around with the radio. Motorists know that using a cell phone while driving is distracting and therefore one should not do it.

[Essay writing]

That is right law take some hard action on the law world wide because mostly accidents occurs due to using cell phone between driving recently i was lost my wife and child due to this non sense act.

[logo design]

Well i think it should have been done many years ago, because of this careless behavior hundreds of people have lost their lives, I believe we should all take part in this to save our future generations.

[Tenant Screening]

Indeed using mobile phone while driving is really dangerous. Im glad that even our very own ban ki moon is advocating safety and repercussion to prevent further accident from happening. More power

[goal setting]

It's more dangerous than drunk driving. Enough said.

[Swimming Pools]

People who drive while yapping away on their phones are both incosiderate and irresponsible. Anyone caught doing so should have their licence revoked for a a year at the minimum. A hands free kit is fine is you abosultely must be in contact 24/7, but anything else should not be acceptable.

[phone number lookup]

I've seen one too many commercials about people dying from texting. Especially the ones that shows the last message sent. When are people going to wake up already.

[reverse phone lookup]

This is great news. It's so sad to see young lives been throw away simply because their attention was taken off the road.

[PTO Pellet Mill]

I agree...we really need to take Global warming more seriously or it will be a big problem for the whole world. I'm open to new ideas!

[photo playing cards]

Nearly 70% of accidents take place due to distraction of driver while driving.Inspite of several instructions people really don't care of others life.Awareness is much more important in such cases.Hope someday this will decrease the percentage of accidents.

[Speedy PC Pro Review]

I am guilty of "texting while driving". I try to always wait till I am stopped at a signal. I do however have Bluetooth in the car so when I am on the phone I can still use both hands to drive and turn my head to watch for traffic.