FRANKFORT — So you�re one of those superb drivers who can multi-task, right? Well, that might have been what 53,000 Kentucky motorists were thinking when they suddenly found themselves in an auto crash in 2008.
Sadly, 200 of them didn�t survive, according to data provided by Boyd T. Sigler, director of Highway Safety Programs. Many of them were sending text messages, it is believed.
�Texting while driving is the most dangerous thing you can do,� said Mike Hancock, Acting Transportation Cabinet Secretary as he testified before the Joint Interim Committee on Transportation Tuesday. �When we see a crash and there are no skid marks - those kind of accidents demand action.
�I hope we can get some kind of legislation that enables us to impact the number of fatalities we have on our road system out there,� Hancock said after the meeting.
Rep. Rick Nelson, D-Middlesboro, has pre-filed a bill to prohibit the use of a personal communication device by any person under 18 while operating a motor vehicle and to prohibit text messaging while driving.
But members of the transportation committee worry it�ll be difficult to define what is prohibited.
Sen. Ernie Harris, R-Crestwood, co-chair of the committee, said lawmakers need to make the language of any such bill �as tight as we can.�
His co-chairman, Rep. Hubert Collins, D-Wittensville, said distracted driving is a problem, but he�s personally witnessed other forms of distracted driving.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there were 5,870 fatalities in 2008 directly attributable to distracted driving. That�s any sort of distraction.
�I�ve seen people with their laptop (computer) sitting on the steering wheel,� Collins said. Sen. Bob Leeper, I-Paducah, said on his trips across the Western Kentucky Parkway he routinely observes other drivers reading newspapers, maps, and even books.
�I�m afraid when we get into this (prohibiting texting), we�ll be saying everything else is OK,� Leeper said. �You know, getting that last gulp of ice out of your big cup from the (convenience store) can be just as distracting.�
Rep. Steven Riggs, D-Louisville, also worries about the precision of language in any bill. If one is sitting at an intersection or waiting for a train to pass, is it dangerous to check messages, he asked.
Lisa Ripley, spokeswoman for State Farm Insurance, said her company supports legislation which restricts new drivers� use of cell phones and is conducting its own research into distracted driving by all drivers.
She said State Farm surveys show that 71 percent of drivers between the ages of 18 and 29 admit they sometimes send text messages while driving and 78 percent admit to using their cell phones while behind the wheel.
But she agreed with lawmakers that the problem includes other sorts of distractions.
�Distracted driving for us means more than just cell phone use,� Ripley said. It includes playing with the radio, eating, putting on makeup, she said � anything which takes the driver�s attention from the road and what lies in the path of the motorist.
Ripley said the company prefers �a more comprehensive approach� to distracted driving which features legislation, enforcement but also education.
Harris said lawmakers are just as concerned as Hancock or insurance companies about distracted driving but want to be careful how it�s defined.
�Every one of us is concerned with traffic safety,� he said. �We�re just going to have to be careful the language we choose accurately defines the problem and addresses the desired outcomes.�
RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.
State News
Defining distracted driving could be problem for lawmakers
- State News
-
-
It’s back to the drawing board for legislators
Confusion reigns in the wake of a judge’s ruling that state redistricting maps passed by the General Assembly are unconstitutional. That ruling said until the legislature offers a plan that meets constitutional muster, 2012 candidates for the legislature must run in the districts drawn 10 years ago.
-
Pending redistricting ruling overshadows legislative business
It has been hurry up and wait this week in Frankfort. With everyone waiting to learn if a Franklin Circuit Judge will throw out the legislature’s plan to re-draw legislative districts and a hold on the filing deadline for fall elections, lawmakers are watching the calendar and court docket more closely than that day’s orders.
-
ELLIS UPDATE: Lawmakers closer on new district mapping
Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Thursday that lawmakers in the Republican Senate and Democratic House are close to an agreement on re-drawing the congressional district map.
-
UK, UL leaders: Cuts are hurting higher ed
The presidents of the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville told a legislative panel that they will keep working to achieve the goals of higher education reform passed in 1997 in spite of on-going budget cuts. But they made it clear it won’t be easy.
-
Lawmakers closer on new district mapping
Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Thursday that lawmakers in the Republican Senate and Democratic House are close to an agreement on re-drawing the congressional district map.
-
Stumbo files anti-pill mill bill
Under provisions of a bill filed Thursday in the General Assembly, pain clinics would have to be owned by licensed health care practitioners and any health care professional who prescribes controlled substances would have to register with and utilize the state’s electronic tracking system.
-
Jill York files to run against Rocky Adkins
The new legislative district maps prompted some tough decisions by some key lawmakers – even before the new map and Tuesday’s filing deadline were cast into doubt by a Franklin Circuit Court restraining order.
-
Filing deadline extended for congressional races
While attorneys argued before a judge about the constitutionality of the state legislative redistricting plan, the General Assembly has extended the filing deadline for congressional races — because lawmakers can’t agree on a map for congressional districts.
-
GOP files suit over new state districts
Three Republican lawmakers and two private citizens filed suit Thursday in Franklin Circuit Court to have the House legislative redistricting plan declared unconstitutional.
-
Committee reviews pill mill bill
Just one day after state and federal law enforcement officials raided a Paintsville pain clinic for the second time in a year, a Senate committee Thursday began reviewing a bill to regulate such clinics.
- More State News Headlines
-
It’s back to the drawing board for legislators






