Jump to navigation Jump to content

Virginia Legal News

AAA wants to see the end to distracted driving by 2013


Posted on Oct 27, 2009

Last month the American Automobile Association (AAA) started a national campaign to promote what they are calling “distraction-free driving”, intended to raise drivers awareness of the dangers posed by hand-held cell phone use behind the wheel.

 

Distracted driving has been blamed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for contributing to 5,870 fatalities and 515,000 injuries across the country last year.  According to AAA, one in five drivers has admitted to texting while driving in the last 30 days, and the number goes up for the under-25 age group.

 

AAA has stated that they would like to see laws in all states making it illegal for any driver to send, write or read a text message or email while driving.  Just this year Virginia enacted a ban on texting while driving, however it is only subject to secondary enforcement.  If a driver is paying attention to their handheld device and not the road, they cannot be pulled over unless they commit a primary traffic violation.

 

AAA has joined forces with the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety to push for a text messaging ban by 2013, and is driving their point home with a massive legislative and communications campaign.  Earlier this month they asked motorists to drive distraction free for one week, with the slogan “try it for a week, do it for life.”

 

The organization is encouraged by results from California’s text messaging ban, which resulted in a 70 percent decrease in texting while driving.

Read More About AAA wants to see the end to distracted driving by 2013...

back to top




Michael S. Weisberg, P.C.
112 College Place
Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: (757) 622-7740
Fax: (757) 533-9223
Toll Free: (800) 690-0235
Email: info@weislaw.com
www.weislaw.com