Distracted Driving Laws Create Rift Between Advocacy Groups And Electronics Manufacturers

The battle between driver-safety advocacy groups and electronics manufacturers heats up as new states adopt distracted driving laws. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is leading the nation's fight to curb distracted driving, calling for a countrywide ban on texting-while-driving. Currently thirty states, plus Washington, D.C. and Guam, ban texting-while-driving. Electronic manufacturers worry that Washington's focus is too narrow, and are concerned that specific industries, cell phones and in-car electronics, are being targeted.

Carmakers and electronic manufacturers are attempting to walk a fine line as they voice their concerns over new state laws banning text messaging. Not wanting to appear to be against laws designed to improve driver safety, these companies are afraid that the new laws could eventually be expanded to cover GPS systems, Bluetooth devices, and in-car voice activation systems. These product categories represent considerable sources of income, especially for carmakers, where these popular, yet fairly-low installation cost, options can run consumers several thousands of dollars.

The fine line these manufacturers are attempting to walk has proved just so, as Secretary LaHood lambasted an electronic industry lobbying group, admitting to being "shocked" that the industry would come out against laws designed to improve driver safety. Specifically, LaHood said that, "I was stunned to read that anybody would organize activities against safe driving."

In response to LaHood's public chastising of the group, the group in question was quoted as saying, "The goal of the proposed coalition concept was to work with all concerned parties and public safety advocates to modernize driver education and promote aggressive enforcement, as this issue is more than just phones in cars. Our collaborative effort simply sought to expand the discussion to include other common forms of driver distraction."

The debate seems to center around confusion over which technologies will come under the texting-ban umbrella. Certain technologies, such as Bluetooth headsets and voice recognition software, while not explicitly developed in response to driver distraction laws, certainly owe much of their proliferation to them. A Southern California Car Accident attorney explains that Bluetooth headsets only became popular in L.A. after the law prohibiting non-hands-free cell phone use was passed.

With research and development costs being what they are today, carmakers and electronics manufacturers feel they have a right to know the direction of future bans. The Consumer Electronics Association, which represents over 2000 firms tied to the electronics industry, argues that many new technologies actually make driving safer. Steve Kidera, of the Consumer Electronics Association, stated, "We are certainly for driver safety," but added "we don't feel that all technology should be eliminated from the car."

Jason Oxman, also of the Consumer Electronics Association, perhaps sums up the fight best by saying, "We absolutely and wholeheartedly agree with Secretary LaHood. Distracted driving is wrong, unsafe and unacceptable. But when you're looking at distracted driving, you shouldn't just look to target specific industries or technology." With the current administration offering grants to the remaining 20 states to pass laws banning text messaging, this fight can only intensify in the future.