[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 18, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           DRIVE SAFER SUNDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 17, 2009

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. 
Res 841, which will designate November 29, 2009, as ``Drive Safer 
Sunday''. I strongly support the passage of this resolution because at 
some point in time, all of our lives have been or will be in the hands 
of a driver. Motor vehicle travel is the primary means of 
transportation for most of us here in the United States. Advocating 
safer driving methods will help save the lives of countless mothers, 
daughters, fathers and sons. Losing the people we love due to another 
drivers' lack of attention, carelessness or belligerent intoxication 
while driving is inexcusable.
  According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, in 
2005, Americans now spend more than 100 hours a year commuting to work. 
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, estimates 
that in 2009, 37,313 people, an average of more than 100 drivers a day, 
were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Throughout the first half 
of this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 
NHTSA, has reported over 16,000 deaths. Throughout 2008 in Houston, my 
home district, the 18th District of Texas, there were an estimated 74 
fatalities according to the Texas Department of Transportation, TxDOT.
  Between driving to work, taking our kids to school, running to the 
grocery store and various other errands; for many of us, our highways 
and byways become a home away from home. Unfortunately, distracted 
drivers have endangered us all with careless antics. `Distracted 
driving' includes anything that takes your eyes, hands, or mind away 
from driving, including food and beverages, traffic accidents, 
adjusting the radio, children, pets, objects moving in the vehicle, 
talking or texting on a cell phone, smoking, putting on on makeup, 
shaving, and reading.
  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, conducted 
a study on driver distraction with respect to both behavioral and 
vehicle safety countermeasures in an effort to understand and mitigate 
crashes associated with distracted driving. In September of this year, 
the Department of Transportation, DOT, Secretary Ray LaHood announced 
research findings by the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, NHTSA, that showed nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in 
crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than 
half a million were injured. Distracted driving was reported to have 
been involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008, according to 
data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS. The age group 
with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age 
group, 16 percent of all under-20 drivers in fatal crashes were 
reported to have been distracted while driving. Crashes in which the 
critical reason for the crash was attributed to the driver, 
approximately 18 percent involved distraction, according to the 
National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, NMVCCS.
  While traveling on our roads and highways, we all need to drive safer 
to reduce deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents. 
Driver behavior can be effectively changed through education and 
awareness. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest highway traffic 
day of the year and would be appropriate to be designated as ``Drive 
Safer Sunday.''

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