FCC, DOT Launch Distracted Driving Work Group
The FCC and the Transportation Department plan to jointly study solutions to distracted driving, they said at a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday. Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said he has no position on bills that have been introduced to encourage states to adopt laws outlawing texting while driving. The FCC plans to study technological solutions, he said. The commission and DOT plan a workshop in the next few weeks bringing in industry, safety and technology experts to examine technology approaches, he said. The FCC is “not asking for more authority and is not proposing new rules,” Genachowski told Rep. John Dingell, D- Mich., who expressed skepticism about passing legislation.
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“We don’t want to rush into anything,” Dingell said. Several bills would use highway funds to encourage states to pass laws discouraging distracted driving. Several Republicans also said they oppose legislation. “I think we are growing very weary of the federal government telling us what we can and cannot do,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R- Tenn. “We need to look at what the public education responsibility is.”
“I do not believe the federal government needs an all- out approach at this time,” said Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., the Communications Subcommittee’s ranking member. “The first and most important step is education.” Bans on using cellphones while driving can lead to greater use of hands- free devices, which may not be safer, said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif. “Enforcement alone is not the solution,” he said, adding that states should be in charge of solving the problem along with a public-private education effort.
Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher of Virginia said he wants to “learn whether the problem is sufficiently egregious to require federal action.” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who has made reducing distracted driving a top priority, said he expects that Congress will enact legislation that will supplement efforts he has begun to ban cellphone use in rail, truck and interstate bus operations. LaHood and Genachowski testified on the issue last week (CD Oct 29 p2) to the Senate Commerce Committee, which is considering legislation. “The need for more focused federal attention on this issue is clear,” said Rep. Ed Markey, D- Mass., a former chairman of the subcommittee.
Research disagree about the use of technologies to minimize distraction, said Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. “One key outstanding question is whether hands-free devices are any safer than handheld, and whether hands-free laws have a positive impact on driver safety.” Waxman said what’s needed is an “all-hands-on-deck, or an all-hands-on-the-steering wheel, approach from government, industry, academics and the driving public.”
Several members admitted using cellphones, and even texting, while driving, but they promised not continue, in light of growing number of fatalities and injuries. “I don’t come to the hearing with clean hands,” said Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C. “I was a culprit, but I made a conscious decision to stop.” Driving while texting or talking on cellphones is “sort of exhilarating in a way,” Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., said. “Some people do it to see if they can do it.” He called the behavior equivalent to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
CTIA supports efforts to “respond to the distracted driving problem by enacting new laws,” said President Steve Largent. But he thinks “a narrow legal response, by itself, probably will not be sufficient.” Although technological solutions have promise, “not all solutions are equal,” he said. Solutions should “not be based on technology mandates, which can freeze or inhibit innovation,” Largent said. And any technological solution “should fit within the existing legal and regulatory framework that governs the industry.”
Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said, “It is my hope that we get to a point where Americans see the value of safe cellphone use in the same way they view putting on a seatbelt.” Genachowski said, “Putting the brakes on the distracted driving epidemic will require both dedication and creative thinking, and the FCC is committed to doing its part to address this growing crisis.”