Witnesses, including the Secretary of Transportation, testified to the safety risks posed by drivers phoning or texting behind the wheel in a hearing today before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Following are the prepared opening statements of Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Chairman of the full Committee, and Subcommittee Chairman Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.).
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JAMES L. OBERSTAR
OCTOBER 29, 2009
I want to thank Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Duncan for holding this important hearing today.
Improving roadway safety will be a top priority for this Committee as we continue to move forward with the Surface Transportation Authorization Act.
Every year tens of thousands of Americans are killed on our nation’s roadways. However, the costs of these numbers cannot be measured simply in dollars and cents or statistics. These numbers represent brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and friends and family members.
Over the past five years, over 41,500 people have lost their lives on the nation’s roadways. The annual economic cost of motor vehicle crashes to the U.S. economy is $289 billion. Despite the human and economic cost associated with motor vehicle crashes, for too long we have accepted traffic fatalities as a regular occurrence.
Recently, there has been a lot of focus on distracted driving, or driving while engaging in behavior or activities that interfere with operation of a vehicle or divert the attention of the driver.
There is a growing consensus that tasks that require the driver to take their eyes away from the road and/or hands from the steering wheel –– such as dialing a cell phone or sending text message –– undermine driver performance.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,870 people lost their lives and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was cited on the crash report. Driver distraction was reported to have been involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008, increasing from 12 percent in 2004.
This is a particularly significant problem among younger drivers, with 16 percent of all under-20 drivers in fatal crashes reported to have been distracted while driving.
This is unacceptable. If we are to commit to making roadway safety a priority, and preventing the tragic loss of life and injuries that occur every day on our roads, we must get serious about all aspects of roadway safety.
I congratulate Secretary LaHood for convening the Distracted Driving Summit. That event, like this hearing, will lay the groundwork for developing consensus on the policies, approaches and technologies that will end this dangerous and preventable behavior.
I’d also like to commend the Secretary for his leadership in creating a new safety council within DOT, designed to enhance the culture of safety at the Department.
We as a nation need to make a new commitment to saving lives and sparing countless individuals and their loved ones from the pain that comes in the wake of traffic crashes.
Addressing this troubling number of fatalities on our roadways will require a comprehensive approach to highway safety. We as policy makers must work to ensure that all aspects of roadway safety––vehicle safety, human factors, and roadway environment––remain a priority as we rewrite our nation’s surface transportation programs.
Preventing and addressing driver distraction will require implementation of a combination of strategies to improve in-vehicle and roadway technology, expand driver education and outreach, as well as improvement to roadway infrastructure.
The Surface Transportation Authorization Act makes a significant commitment to addressing the roadway safety crisis facing the nation.
This hearing provides an opportunity to build on the progress we have made in the Committee Print, and will allow us to consider further policies and approaches to address these emerging and preventable crashes, loss of life and injury.
I want to welcome and thank all of our witnesses for being here today, I look forward to hearing your testimony on this critical issue.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE PETER A. DEFAZIO
CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS AND TRANSIT
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF DISTRACTED DRIVING
October 29, 2009
Good morning. As we have seen in numerous media reports, distracted driving is a serious problem. In recent years we have seen an increasing number of fatal crashes resulting from distracted driving as more and more Americans use cell phones, PDAs, and GPS units in their cars while driving. This hearing is meant to focus on the issues behind distracted driving and to explore the most effective options to reducing the threat distracted driving poses to the traveling American public.
In 2008, nearly 6,000 people lost their lives and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was reported on the crash report. That same year, driver distraction was reported to have been involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes, increasing from 12 percent in 2004. Most troubling, young drivers under age 20, who have the least amount of driving experience and therefore should arguably be even more focused on the road, make up the greatest proportion of distracted drivers. Sixteen percent of all under-age-20 drivers in fatal crashes in 2008 were reported to have been distracted while driving.
It is clear that cell phone conversations using handheld devices, texting, and e-mailing are a major problem for drivers. But distracted driving is more than that. GPS units that help us find where we’re going; MP3 players, eating, and even reading are all causes of distraction while behind the wheel. More research needs to be done so we can fully understand the extent of this problem, but the research that has been done shows a growing consensus that tasks that require the driver to divert their eyes from the road and/or their hands from the steering wheel pose a serious distraction that undermines driver performance.
In public opinion polls, more than 90 percent of Americans acknowledge they know that talking on a phone while driving is risky and some 86 percent of adults between the ages of 18-29 say people should not be allowed to text message while driving. However, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that 67 percent of drivers admitted to talking on their cell phone within the last 30 days while behind the wheel, and 21 percent of drivers indicated they had read or sent a text or e-mail message. In other words, Americans know texting or using a handheld cell phone while driving is dangerous, but they do it anyway.
The Department of Transportation’s recent Distracted Driving Summit put a spotlight on an issue we’ve known is a problem for some time. I’m happy to welcome Secretary LaHood here today to talk about the Department’s efforts to combat distracted driving. We’ll also see a video presentation on research done at Virginia Tech University and hear from a host of other experts who will share their expertise with us.
Distracted driving is a serious problem threatening are roadways and it’s clear we must take action. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today to inform our decision-making process as we proceed with a solution.
Thank you.
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For more information on this hearing go to: transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx
View T&I Committee members' statements on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/HouseTransInf
