[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 23317-23318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           ALERT DRIVERS ACT

  (Mrs. McCARTHY of New York asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Madam Speaker, distracted driving is a 
serious problem in our Nation. One

[[Page 23318]]

study conducted by Virginia Tech University found that drivers are 23 
times more likely to get into an accident when texting. A recent New 
York Times/CBS News Poll indicated 90 percent of adults agree that 
texting while driving should be illegal.
  This is an issue that rises above political power. This is why the 
Department of Transportation has dedicated a 2-day summit here in 
Washington this week to address the rising concerns of distracted 
driving on our Nation's highways.
  H.R. 3535, the ALERT Drivers Act, which I am proud to introduce along 
with my colleague, Nita Lowey from New York, would ban anyone from 
writing, sending, or reading text messages while operating a moving 
vehicle.
  Already endorsed by Ford Motors and the Advocates for Highway and 
Auto Safety, I ask that you join me in curbing preventable accidents on 
our Nation's roadways and cosponsor the ALERT Drivers Act.
  Madam Speaker, we see these accidents all the time. We need to do 
something.

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