[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 157 (Tuesday, October 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10785-S10786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Lautenberg, 
        Mr. Schumer, Mr. Thune, and Ms. Klobuchar):
  S. 1938. A bill to establish a program to reduce injuries and deaths 
caused by cellphone use and texting while driving; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today I am introducing comprehensive, 
bipartisan legislation to reduce deaths and injuries caused by drivers 
texting and holding cell phones, I am delighted to have four original 
cosponsors join me today: Senator Hutchison, the ranking member of the 
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; Senator 
Lautenberg, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee's Surface 
Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security 
Subcommittee, Senator Schumer, and Mr. Thune, the ranking member of the 
Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee.
  According to the Department of Transportation, distracted drivers 
last year killed 5,800 people. Distraction was a factor in 16 percent 
of all traffic fatalities. In addition, distracted drivers injured 
515,000 people, which accounted for 22 percent of all people injured in 
traffic accidents.
  Distracted driving covers a range of activities: eating, reaching for 
an object, texting, or using a cell phone. An analysis of 5,471 
passenger vehicle crashes investigated by the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, NHTSA, found that 18 percent of drivers just 
prior to the crash were engaged in at least one non-driving activity, 
which included cell phone use.
  We all know that the explosion of cell phone use and texting in the 
past three years has brought distracted driving to a new level of 
danger. Now we have the new data, provided by the same researchers who 
record seat belt use levels for NHTSA: at any given daylight hour, 11 
percent of vehicles are driven by a person holding a hand-held 
electronic device. That translates into 812,000 drivers not paying full 
attention to driving at any given moment of the day, which makes our 
roads more dangerous for everyone.
  The statistics regarding deaths and injuries caused by distracted 
drivers provide the foundation for us to act. But the tragic, 
individual stories of deaths and injuries to innocent people compel us 
to act.
  In October 2008, 29-year-old Tiffany DeGroft was exchanging text 
messages with her boyfriend while driving her Jaguar on Braddock Road 
in Centreville, Virginia. The text messages indicate that her boyfriend 
was upset. His last text message read: ``Why aren't you answering me 
now?'' Tiffany DeGroft did not answer because her car had missed a 
curve in the road. She was killed on impact. A Fairfax County detective 
said, ``We found the phone on the floor in the open position. I suspect 
she was actually reading the text.''

  While that story is tragic, it becomes even more so when the person 
texting doesn't kill himself or herself, but innocent persons instead.
  In September 2008, 13-year-old Margay Schee in Marion County, FL, was 
riding home from school in a school bus. A truck driver, who by his own 
admission was distracted by a cell phone conversation, slammed into the 
back of the bus, which had its flashers on while stopped. The bus 
caught fire, killing Margay in a vehicle that is designed to protect 
children.
  In September 2006, college student Reggie Shaw sent 11 text messages 
over 30 minutes to his girlfriend as he drove his truck along a two-
lane highway in rural Utah. Shaw sent the last text message one minute 
before he called police about the accident. Investigators concluded 
that Shaw sent that last text message just as he crossed the yellow 
line of the rural highway, striking an oncoming car. James Furaro and 
Keith O'Dell, both rocket scientists, were killed instantly.
  Unlike some highway safety issues that are complicated to address, 
this one is not. Writing and reading text messages while driving a 
2,000-pound vehicle is dangerous--not only for the driver, but also for 
the driver's passengers and everyone else using the roads. Crashes 
involving commercial vehicles--such as trucks and buses--can result in 
even more catastrophic accidents than passenger cars. An 80,000-pound 
truck will crush a small car like a soda can.
  Texting takes a driver's eyes off the road for at least four seconds 
at a time--long enough at high speeds to travel the length of a 
football field. Under those circumstances, there is no time to react to 
a stopped car, a stop sign, or another road hazard. In fact, a recent 
study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Instistitute on behalf of the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, FMCSA, found that motor 
vehicle operators who are texting are 23 times more likely to cause a 
crash, or near-crash, than a non-distracted driver. Deaths and injuries 
to innocent people are the inevitable and tragically avoidable result.
  In 2006, the National Transportation Safety Board, after 
investigating several accidents, made a recommendation to the FMCSA to 
ban cell phone use by commercial driver's license holders who have 
endorsements to carry passengers or drive school buses. I commend the 
Transportation Secretary's recent actions to begin addressing these 
recommendations. But I am concerned that the Department of 
Transportation should be doing more to eliminate these unsafe driver 
distractions.
  Several States have taken action to ban texting while driving, and to 
limit cell phone use to hands-free devices.

[[Page S10786]]

But not enough states have done so. Since Constitutional considerations 
prohibit the federal government from directing states to enact traffic 
laws, we at the federal level can only give states funding incentives 
to act with regard to passenger vehicle drivers. That is why I am today 
introducing the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009.

  First, this legislation would create a grant program to send money to 
states that enact laws to prohibit texting and hand-held cell phone use 
while driving. While we wish the states would enact these common-sense 
safety measures on their own, the history of highway safety tells us 
that many states will fail to act unless we give them an incentive to 
do so.
  To qualify for a federal grant, a state must enact an absolute ban on 
texting while driving. No exceptions. There should be no exception for 
a driver taking his or her eyes off the road. For states to receive the 
grant, the prohibition on texting must have significant penalties, 
including increased fines and other penalties for a driver who causes 
an accident while texting.
  The second requirement for a State to receive a grant is to enact a 
law that bans holding a cell phone while driving. When people drive, 
both hands should be on the wheel. The grant program does not ask 
states to completely ban cell phone use by drivers; our legislation 
would allow the use of a hands-free device during a phone call. We also 
allow states to make exceptions for holding a cell phone to call for 
emergency services.
  States qualifying for the grant must completely ban cell phone use by 
drivers under the age of 18. A driver under 18 years old may not even 
use a hands-free device. For these inexperienced drivers, the 
additional distraction of using a cell phone can be deadly. Many 
parents already encourage their teenage drivers to not use a cell phone 
while driving. But having the police enforce this law will be even more 
effective.
  With more States enacting a ban on texting and hand-held cell phone 
use, we need to get the message out so that drivers obey the law. Our 
legislation would create a new national education campaign based upon 
the tremendous success of the recent drunk driving and seat belt 
advertising campaigns. These advertising campaigns are not only an 
opportunity to remind people of the law, but also a means by which to 
educate drivers about the dangers of texting and cell phone use. This 
education can change driver behavior even when law enforcement might 
not be present.
  In addition to nationwide advertising, we also will direct NHTSA to 
target some local markets with advertising in states and cities that 
have already passed texting and cell phone use laws.
  Unlike passenger vehicle drivers, a truck driver's vehicle is also 
his or her office space. Devices to receive directions, follow-up on 
orders, or maintain contact with dispatchers are necessary to perform a 
truck driver's duties. These devices, too, can become distractions, as 
they require eyes and attention to be removed from the roadway. 
Therefore, this legislation would require the Secretary of 
Transportation to issue regulations within one year specifically on the 
use of electronic and wireless devices by commercial motor vehicle 
drivers and those who operate certain school buses. The Secretary would 
be authorized to ban the use of certain devices if the Secretary 
determines that they interfere with the safe operation of a commercial 
motor vehicle. The bill also would allow the Secretary to permit 
exceptions for emergency uses. We need to make sure that commercial 
motor vehicle drivers are operating their trucks and buses in the 
safest manner possible.
  Furthermore, this legislation will require that states, as part of 
their federal grant for data collection, begin collecting distracted 
driving data about each vehicle crash, starting with the police reports 
of the crash. By requiring law enforcement officers to inquire about 
the possible role that texting or cell phone use might have played in a 
crash, and requiring states to collect that data, we can better 
understand the scope and causes of the distracted driving problem.
  To bolster the new data collection at the state level, this 
legislation would require the Transportation Secretary to establish a 
dedicated program at the Transportation Department to study all forms 
of distracted driving across all modes of transportation. Better 
research is essential to finding the best strategies for reducing 
deaths and injuries caused by distracted driving.
  This legislation also charges the Federal Communications Commission 
with studying potential initiatives to raise awareness and reduce the 
problems caused by distracted driving. By bringing aboard the agency 
with oversight of wireless carriers, we add another stakeholder that 
can help us develop creative solutions to address this problem.
  One last note about this legislation: it is paid for. The grant 
program that encourages states to enact a primary seat belt law has run 
a surplus in recent years as the number of states enacting a new 
primary seat belt law has slowed. Any state that enacts a new primary 
seat belt law in 2010 and 2011 would still receive their safety belt 
grant. But the remainder of the funding for that program will be 
redirected for the nationwide distracted driving advertising campaigns, 
and sent as grants to states that prohibit texting and hand-held cell 
phone use.
  Creating incentives for states to take action against distracted 
driving, launching a nationwide campaign to educate drivers about the 
dangers of texting and cell phone use, and collecting better data about 
driver behavior will result in fewer deaths and injuries on our 
nation's roads.
  I ask my colleagues to support this comprehensive bill that will save 
lives and prevent injuries by reducing distracted driving.

                          ____________________