As we begin the new year, we can add Kansas to the list of 30 states that now ban text messaging while driving. This ban, along with a variety of other new driver safety regulations being adopted across the country, reflect a growing concern over the effect that driver distractions are having in causing accidents.

According to statistics gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2009 5,474 people in the U.S. were killed in accidents involving distracted drivers. Well over 300,000 injury crashes reportedly involved driver distraction as well. In fact, actual numbers are generally assumed to be much higher since drivers do not always report the role that cell phones, GPS systems and other distractive devices played in their accidents.

Still, the number of distracted driving-related fatalities continues to increase from year to year. In 2005 the distracted driver-related fatality rate was estimated at 10 percent of all driving fatalities as compared to 16 percent in 2009.

Those are the numbers. The real stories behind the statistics can be seen in a video campaign developed by U.S. Department of Transportation called Faces of Distracted Drivers. Each video in this series offers testimonials from those affected by the accidents involving distracted drivers. Pretty powerful stuff.

I must add that while new technologies such as texting or GPS devices are usually targeted as the root cause of driver distractions, some point to the fact that newly implemented laws that ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving (in favor of hands-free devices) have “produced no impact on accident rates.” According to a piece published in the WSJ, it’s not that distraction doesn’t play a role in accidents – it does. It’s argued that drivers simply substitute one distraction for another. The rise of cell phone driving-related accidents is – according to the author – simply due to the increased use of cell phones in general.

Either way, the list of potential distractions seems to be on the increase. Despite some concerns, Onstar is about to introduce an application that will allow drivers to verbally update their Facebook status and review their messages while behind the wheel. Ford’s Sync technology will connect a variety of different GPS and smart phone applications with voice command. Not to be outdone, Toyota just announced future plans for its Entune Multimedia System which will allow drivers a “hands free” way to read text messages, play music and interact with other smart phone apps.

So like it or not, it appears that distractions will play a significant role in thousands of serious automobile accidents each year. Instead of banning distractions – an impossible task I suppose – I predict that we will turn instead to making cars and transportation systems smarter. Our cars will have sensors that keep our distractions from interfering with safe driving. Perhaps smart road signs and lane barriers will keep us on track while we text grandma that we are on the way to Thanksgiving dinner.

We are already seeing these types of intelligent traffic systems being installed and implemented. As I’ve pointed out in earlier posts, the proven traffic-calming effectiveness of radar speed signs – those digital displays that tell passing drivers their actual speed – is directly related to their ability to disrupt distractions and refocus driver attention back to their current rate of speed. Variable message signs that tell drivers to slow down or to watch for obstructions ahead are also examples of distraction-busting technology.

It’s a pretty safe bet that we will all see an increase in the number of gadgets and applications we will have to distract us on our drive. Until such times as technology completely takes over and our transportation becomes a completely hands free experience, we’ll see cities and towns across the country turn to smart displays and other intelligent traffic systems to help us safely reach our destinations.

I CAME ACROSS A study by Safe Kids USA that looked at distracted drivers in school zones. While it’s no surprise that distracted drivers are more likely to cause or be involved in an accident, some of the specifics noted in the report were surprising to me. For instance:

Fact. Drivers using a phone are as likely to get in an accident as drunk drivers ( .08 blood alcohol content). 

Fact. Drivers dialing a phone are six times more likely to be involved in an accident. 

Fact. Drivers texting on their phones are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident. 

Fact. Drivers talking on a phone are four times more likely to be in an accident.      

Fact. Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimated that in 2003, cell phone use was a factor in 636,000 crashes, 12,000 major injuries and 2,600 deaths.

But this post isn’t about bashing cell phone use. It’s about the impact of driving distractions in general and what we can do about it to increase pedestrian safety.

In the Safe Kids study, trained observers were posted in school zones located in 15 states throughout the U.S. They observed each car that passed through the school zone, making note of the drivers’ sex, the type of cars they were driving and any marked evidence of driver distractions. Of the 41,426 total drivers observed, about 7,000 of them (1 in 6) were distracted by something – eating, reaching in back, talking on a phone etc.

Specific findings include:

• Cell phone use was the number one leading distracter 
• Men and woman drivers were abut equally distracted.
• Distracted drivers appeared more frequently in school zones without flashing lights.
• Drivers of SUVs, pickup trucks and other large vehicles tended to be distracted more than car drivers.
• Drivers not using their seat belts were 35% more likely to be distracted than those who did use seat belts.

Why does any of this matter? I suggest two reasons:

1. Distractions lead to more accidents as well as a higher severity of accidents when crashes do occur.       

2. Traffic calming methods that interrupt diver distractions during critical times (such as while passing through school zones( are particularly important in reducing accidents.

As the Safe Kids report points out, a distraction that takes the driver’s mind off of his or her driving environment can have a huge impact on accident avoidance. By the time you calculate how long it takes for a driver to see a child run into the street, for the brain to process the situation and for the driver to make a decision on how to avoid the hazard, a car traveling just 30 mph will have traveled about 33 feet. Once you add driver reaction time and the time it takes the car to stp, it has now traveled about 104 feet from when the danger was first spotted.

From Safe Kids USA

That’s on a dry road…with clear conditions…without driver distractions. For each second that the driver is distracted, you can add another 33 feet to that stopping distance.

Radar speed signs, variable speed limit signs and violation alert signs are all bout refocusing a driver’s attention away from distractions and back onto his or her own driving speed and road conditions. And they work.

A variety of government studies show that radar speedcheck signs are one of the most highly effective means of reducing accidents in school zones, work zones and other places where pedestrian safety is of particular concern.

And now we know why.

If interested, you can find a nice collection of links to many of these government traffic calming studies at www.informationdisplay.com.

WELCOME TO A new year!  2010.  Sheesh!  Is it just me or does simply saying 2010 sound futuristic?  Face it.  The “future” is today. We are seeing promises of tomorrow become mainstream realities. If you don’t believe me, just go see Avatar 3D Imax or make a purchase at an Apple (computer) store…or go for a drive.

We are now entering a new era of driving where technology is taking an increasingly larger role in getting us safely to our destination. It’s all about ITS or Intelligent Traffic Systems. If you haven’t yet heard the term, I suggest you say it now a few times to yourself, because before the year is over, it will become a commonly used idiom for most Americans.

Given its relative newness, the term ITS has yet to be firmly solidified within the marketplace and so its currently being used for a fairly wide range of traffic management-related implementations. At the recent World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transportation Systems and Services held this past September, the term was used to describe among other applications:

• Synchronized traffic lights coupled with active displays that tell drivers the optimal speed they should be traveling.
• In-car responder systems that notify emergency personnel of traffic accidents.
• Variable message signs that work with street sensors to instruct drivers of traffic accidents ahead, current drive times to various locations or alternative route suggestions. 
• Speed cameras that automatically record the license plate of traffic law violators.
• Instant drive-by toll collection technology.
• Emergency vehicle detectors that recognize approaching police cars, ambulances and fire trucks and automatically adjust traffic lights to give these vehicles the right-of-way.

As you can see from these examples, some ITS implementations are certain to cause controversy. In fact, the rapid increased interest in the technology is receiving support in the U.S. from various homeland security-related organizations that see a potential use of ITS for both surveillance and as a way to quickly and easily evacuate citizens in the event of an emergency.

Unclogging gridlock with Intelligent Traffic Signs

Information Display Company has already taken a leading role in marrying its display expertise with ITS technology. It is one of the first companies to offer traffic light synchronization displays and variable message signs. They are also working closely with others to adapt their radar display know-how with traffic monitoring systems. The result will be solutions that give motorists real-time information that will help them reach their destinations as quickly and safely as possible.

Stay tuned for updates.