distracted driving prevention | Seattle Personal Injury & Accident Blog

New Regulation Prohibits Truck Drivers from Handheld Cell Phone Use

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on January 6, 2012

A new regulation from the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) went into effect on January 3, banning commercial truck and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving.

The regulation is based on studies the FMCSA conducted over the previous year showing that truckers who hold onto their cell phones to make calls or look up information while driving sharply increase their risk of causing an accident. It follows a regulation imposed by the FMCSA last year which prohibits drivers from texting while behind the wheel of a semi truck or bus. Drivers are still allowed to use hands-free devices to talk on cell phones while driving, and they may pull over to use a cell phone or send a text message. Read the rest »

Five Steps to Fight Distracted Driving

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on November 10, 2011

Even though the vast majority of U.S. states ban text messaging while driving to address distracted driving risks, an Ad Council study reports a whopping 82 percent of young drivers, between 16 and 24 years old, have engaged in this dangerous activity. And it’s not only the younger demographic who are distracted behind the wheel: approximately 20 percent of all accidents involving injury in 2009 were reportedly caused by distraction. However, like all reckless behavior, distracted driving can be prevented with a combination of awareness and good choices. Below are five tips, picked from recommendations by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA).

1. Never use your phone or any other hand held device while driving. Not only is it illegal, but research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows drivers who use hand held devices are four times as likely to get into accidents severe enough to cause injury. The University of Utah also determined that using a cell phone (regardless of whether it’s hands free or not) compromises a driver’s response time to the same extent as being legally drunk with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent. So switch off your ringer. Read the rest »