Distracted Driving: How Technological Advancements Impede Highway Safety
By Amy L. Brueckner.
Traffic safety has long been a concern of the United States’ legal system. In 1966, the passage of the Highway Safety Act and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act empowered the federal government with the authority to “set and regulate motor vehicle and highway standards.” Subsequent improvements in automotive design resulted in a decline of vehicle-related deaths. Despite these promising consequences, not all safety requirements were readily embraced.
One of the most controversial requirements involved safety restraint systems, namely seatbelts. Although vehicles came equipped with seatbelts, drivers and passengers retained the discretion to buckle up or not. Misconceptions about the benefits of seatbelts thwarted the federal government’s efforts to encourage seatbelt use. Eventually, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association proposed that automotive manufacturers equip every vehicle with “an automatic restraint system.” State legislatures followed suit and began enacting mandatory seatbelt-use laws. Today, every state, except New Hampshire, has a law requiring all vehicle occupants to wear a seatbelt.
Although seatbelt-use laws proved to be one victory in the promotion of highway safety, new hurdles have emerged. Recently, distracted driving has become a pressing safety concern, especially as it relates to the use of cell phones. In fact, text messaging while driving has been deemed the modern-day form of drunk driving. The manifestation of the dangers posed by cell phone use while driving has ignited a vehement response by federal and state legislatures. Much like the passage of seatbelt use laws, opposition to laws prohibiting cell phone use while driving exists, and the best methods for enforcement remain an ongoing obstacle.
The purpose of this Comment is to examine the evolution of distracted driving, its ramifications upon society, and solutions to ameliorate this pressing problem. Distracted driving is a broad concept encompassing various acts. However, this Comment focuses mainly on the use of cell phones, including the act of text messaging, to analyze the distracted driving problem.