Last week U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood proposed a summit in September to “address the dangers of text messaging and other distractions behind the wheel.” But revealing his real intent, he went on to say, “If it were up to me, I would ban drivers from texting…”
Secretary LaHood’s intent in this case may very well be good – saving lives—but his proposed solution smacks of political opportunism rather than serious intent.
The problem, of course, is distracted driving, not text messaging per se. Technological mandates and technological discrimination are nothing new in public policy proposals, but the effect of such tech-specific policies is short-lived as whatever technology gets specifically addressed will be passé in a matter of years if not months.
So aren’t societal interests best served by having police spend more time reducing “reckless driving” (a standard already deployed nationwide) rather than policing device usage or even distracting human behavior made illegal under new laws?
How many times have you seen someone changing clothes, eating, fixing their hair, adjusting their seat, changing radio channels, scolding the children, or having an animated chat with friends in the car while driving? Certainly news accounts are filled with these sorts of reports. Perhaps we should ban that lovely British accented GPS voice?
Interestingly, research has shown that conversation alone distracts drivers, not holding onto a device. So then if the goal is really to save lives through elimination of distraction shouldn’t passengers be banned—or at least passengers who chat?
The fact is that we cannot eliminate all risk. And yet some risk is worth taking. In this case, the stakes are higher because the risk isn’t accepted just for the driver but rather is accepted for others who could be put at risk because of thoughtless risk taking.
Let’s hope that Secretary LaHood focuses on his summary thought to “make drivers think twice about taking their eyes off the road for any reason.” Now that is a mandate we can believe in.