With more mobile devices attracting more attention from drivers, the federal government has unveiled a new plan to crack down on distracted driving.
From texting to phone calls -- sometimes the greatest dangers on the road lately -- are inside vehicles.
With new technology popping up every day, the Department of Transportation Thursday unveiled a new plan to end what they call a distracted driving "epidemic."
"Americans have gotten into very dangerous behavior with their cell phones and texting devices, to think they can use them behind the wheel of a car and drive safely," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Among their goals:
-- encourage 11 remaining states without distracted driving laws to enact legislation, and enforce it.
-- push the auto industry to reduce dashboard and other in-vehicle distractions.
-- and better educate new drivers about potential dangers.
The announcement came the day after a Massachusetts jury convicted a teenager of motor vehicle homicide, after a fatal crash that happened while he was texting. The closely-watched trial was considered a landmark in distracted driving cases.
Speaking at the Department of Transportation's press conference, crash survivor Alison Holden explained how another driver's distraction altered her life.
"I sustained a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury, neck, rib and hip injuries -- and some emotional stuff, too. She should have been focusing on the road, but instead she was on her phone and hit me."
The federal government found distracted driving accounted for one in ten overall roadway fatalities in 2010.
(Karin Caifa for CNN, Washington)
From texting to phone calls -- sometimes the greatest dangers on the road lately -- are inside vehicles.
With new technology popping up every day, the Department of Transportation Thursday unveiled a new plan to end what they call a distracted driving "epidemic."
"Americans have gotten into very dangerous behavior with their cell phones and texting devices, to think they can use them behind the wheel of a car and drive safely," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Among their goals:
-- encourage 11 remaining states without distracted driving laws to enact legislation, and enforce it.
-- push the auto industry to reduce dashboard and other in-vehicle distractions.
-- and better educate new drivers about potential dangers.
The announcement came the day after a Massachusetts jury convicted a teenager of motor vehicle homicide, after a fatal crash that happened while he was texting. The closely-watched trial was considered a landmark in distracted driving cases.
Speaking at the Department of Transportation's press conference, crash survivor Alison Holden explained how another driver's distraction altered her life.
"I sustained a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury, neck, rib and hip injuries -- and some emotional stuff, too. She should have been focusing on the road, but instead she was on her phone and hit me."
The federal government found distracted driving accounted for one in ten overall roadway fatalities in 2010.
(Karin Caifa for CNN, Washington)
