Truck or bus drivers who text while driving a commercial vehicle could be fined up to $2,750 as part of civil or criminal penalties. That's what U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today, explicitly prohibiting texting for commercial vehicle drivers. But it's not a new rule. "This is...Read More»
Kia is no longer taking second stage with respect to in-car technology. This week it's showing a new voice-control system for communication and audio that sounds every bit as full-featured as industry-leading systems such as Ford's Sync. At the time of its launch a few years ago, Ford was the only...Read More»
A new study finds that state laws banning driving while texting doesn't actually correspond to lower confessed rates of the activity in that state—especially among the youngest drivers. Part of it looks due to misinformation. Nearly 36 percent of respondents didn't know whether or not driving...Read More»
At a meeting on auto safety organized by the U.S. Transportation Department, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood this morning reported on the dangers of distracted driving. His figures were grim: last year, almost 6,000 traffic fatalities and 515,000 injuries were linked to driver distraction. The...Read More»
Texting is a permanent part of digital life today, but that doesn't make it safe. And the data on texting while driving is truly frightening: A study of truck drivers by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute showed their risk of a crash or near-crash event was 23 times as high when the driver was...Read More»
Ford Motor Company yesterday officially endorsed the proposed national ban on handheld texting while driving. With that, Ford is the first of the major automakers to support the bill—introduced by Senator Charles Schumer of New York and Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York—which would...Read More»
Over the past five years we've made some huge advances in vehicle safety, including the broader application of life-saving innovations like side-curtain airbags, electronic stability control, and even tire-pressure monitoring. Yet 35 percent of U.S. drivers are feeling less safe today than five...Read More»
Newly compiled results from more than six million miles of observed driving suggest that it's the act of taking one's eyes off the road, more than the cognitive distraction of talking or listening on the phone, that's most dangerous. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study included...Read More»
