Proposed Guidelines for Car Manufacturers Target Distracted Driving

March 15, 2012

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has revealed its next weapon in the war on distracted driving: innovative, tough proposed guidelines for car manufacturers.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who makes the fight against distracted driving a highly visible priority of his department, announced the first phase of the proposed guidelines on Feb. 16, 2012. The guidelines are neither actual regulations nor laws, but rather voluntary guidelines suggesting mechanical features for cars and other light passenger vehicles likely to reduce driver distractions known to increase the chances of being involved in car accidents.

The agency has the data to back up its proposal. For example, the NHTSA cites in its notice 2010 statistics that 17 percent (almost 900,000) of reported accidents that year involved distracted driving. Most of those distractions were not related to the use of devices or controls essential to safe operation of a vehicle.

The guidelines focus on "in-vehicle electronic devices" likely to distract drivers, specifically those related to "communications, entertainment, information gathering and navigation" that are not necessary for safe driving.

Specifically, the agency wants to encourage manufacturers to design and make electronic equipment that will minimize the frequency with which and length of time a driver is likely to take his or her eyes off the road or engage the hands in nondriving tasks.

Some of the suggested design elements would make the use of these electronics simpler and faster by allowing a task to be done with only one hand and in fewer steps. Another goal is to reduce visual diversion time from driving to the electronic task to no more than two seconds. Dashboards can be designed to be "cleaner" or less visually distracting.

A major push of the guidelines is to design a vehicle that would be immobilized if the driver is using electronic equipment to do things like texting, browsing the Internet, accessing online social media like Facebook or Twitter, and similar activities. To accomplish these tasks, the car would have to be stopped and in park.

Three public hearings will be held in March in the nation's capital, and in Chicago and Los Angeles. The public may submit written comments about the proposal to the agency until April 24, 2012. After public input, the agency plans to publish notice of its final version before July 2012.

If you are involved in a motor vehicle crash, be sure to discuss the situation with an experienced personal injury attorney to learn about your legal rights and possible remedies. Be sure to inform your lawyer if you suspect involvement of driver distractions in the accident.

Article provided by McSweeney & Fay, P.L.L.P.
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