DOT 187-09
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Contact: Olivia Alair
Tel.: 202-366-4570

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Commends University of Alabama-Birmingham for Convening First Statewide Summit on Distracted Driving

Washington, DC - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood delivered the keynote speech today at the Alabama Distracted Driving Summit in Birmingham, addressing the dangerous and growing trend of distracted driving. Secretary LaHood also commended the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Transportation Centers in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa for their leadership convening the first-ever statewide summit on the issue.

"Distracted driving is a serious, life-and-death problem that took nearly 6,000 lives last year alone," said Secretary LaHood. "There are proven strategies we can use to help combat this epidemic, but it will also take leadership and coordination to protect our communities and the traveling public. The University of Alabama-Birmingham's summit - the first of its kind outside Washington - helps continue the national conversation on distracted driving and will put more good ideas on the table to prevent needless deaths. I hope other states will follow its lead."

Modeled on the national Distracted Driving Summit that Secretary LaHood convened this past fall, Alabama's Summit brought together state leaders in transportation, policy, law enforcement and science to discuss how to reduce motor-vehicle crashes resulting from distracted driving through legislation, enforcement, public awareness and education. The Summit was co-sponsored by the University of Alabama at Birmingham's University Transportation Center, part of the UAB Injury Control and Research Center, and the University Transportation Center for Alabama.

"Secretary LaHood issued a challenge to the states to move quickly to address the issues of distracted driving," said Russ Fine, Ph.D., director of the UAB UTC. "Alabama's response has been gratifying, as this summit has brought together leaders in state government, transportation safety, science, law enforcement and public policy to begin that process and provide a safer driving environment for all Alabamians." Research findings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. On any given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone. The worst offenders are the youngest drivers: men and women under 20 years of age. Secretary LaHood's prepared remarks for the Alabama Distracted Driving Summit are below.

For more information and research, please visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/.