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OOIDA wants more public education on distracted driving
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OOIDA wants more public education on distracted driving.
State law enforcement officers riding with truck drivers to observe motorists' behavior around big rigs could be a program that would help in the effort to ease distracted driving, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).
Federal, state and local agencies, as well as trucking associations and carriers, are involved in a nationwide move to end texting and to restrict other uses of cell phones while behind the wheel. OOIDA wants more public education on distracted driving and its dangers.
The U.S. Transportation Secretary has called on state and local governments to work with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to reduce fatalities and crashes by making distracted driving part of their state highway plans, and by continuing to pass state and local laws against distracted driving in all types of vehicles, especially school buses. Texas already has approved a regulation that forbids the use of cell phones in school zones.
"The association (OOIDA) would like to see more programs conducted by various state law enforcement agencies that aim to educate the motoring public about driving around big rigs," OOIDA said in a news release. "These programs involve a state officer riding along with an owner-operator and watching for motorists who follow too closely or cut in front of tractor-trailers."
OOIDA also calls on government entities to provide law enforcement with the resources that they need to fully enforce existing laws on inattentive or negligent driving.
DOT has said it will formulate regulations for banning texting and is taking a look at other driving distractions. DOT recently announced it is joining with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to combat distracted driving by evaluating technologies that may help curb what the department said is the "dangerous epidemic of distracted driving."
Officials from the DOT and FCC will establish a working group to evaluate technology-based solutions to the problem of distracted driving and will coordinate consumer outreach and education, according to the DOT information.
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