Distracted driving

Motorists who gab on their cell phone or fire off text messages obviously aren’t focused on the road, and their distracted driving has serious consequences for highway safety.

The National Safety Council says that 1.6 million crashes a year are caused by drivers who talk or text. That’s 28 percent of all accidents on U.S. highways, a significant percentage that warrants attention.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said that dealing with distracted drivers is one of his priorities, and it needs to be. The Transportation Department’s figures show that 16 percent of fatal crashes in 2008 were caused by drivers whose attention was diverted in some way. That translates into 6,000 deaths a year and half a million injuries. …

Louisiana is one of 18 states, along with the District of Columbia, that have outlawed texting while driving. In this state, the fine ranges from $175 for a first offense to $1,000. Congress is considering legislation that would tie federal highway dollars to texting bans.

But states have been slower to outlaw the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Only seven states and the District of Columbia currently have such laws, and a measure to ban the use of hand-held cell phones in vehicles in Louisiana went nowhere during the last legislative session.

Secretary LaHood has said that he supports a ban on mobile phone use while driving, and he should use his position to encourage states to address the issue. In the meantime, though, motorists should use common sense. Even if it’s not illegal, talking on cell phones while driving is a dangerous practice that drivers can and should avoid. And parents should stress the danger to their teenagers.

— The Times-Picayune, New Orleans