Gadgets and Distracted Driving
By Myron Levin on June 26, 2018
Automakers have packed many of their new models with distracting infotainment features that allow drivers not only to play music and get directions, but to talk, text and use social media while tooling down the road. Now new research has found that two popular smartphone-based systems –Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto – are somewhat simpler…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Christopher Jensen on May 1, 2018
Six manufacturers of products including computers, cellphones, video game gear and autos have been told by federal regulators to change the language in their warranties or possibly face charges of “unfair or deceptive acts.” The Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters three weeks ago to the six companies — Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Hyundai, ASUSTek Computer…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Cell Phones, Consumer Protection, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Christopher Jensen on March 12, 2018
Traffic safety measures ranging from seat belt and drunk driving enforcement to design standards for cars and trucks “averted a public health disaster” by preventing about 5.8 million deaths in the U.S. from 1968 through 2015, according to a new study. The analysis found that without federal and state policies, traffic deaths annually would “likely…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Paul Feldman on February 28, 2018
The increasing use of smartphones and recreational marijuana may be contributing to a surge in the numbers of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes, according to a new analysis. The report by the Governors Highway Safety Association estimates that pedestrian fatalities totaled about 6,000 in 2017, roughly the same as the year before, when the official…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Paul Feldman on February 6, 2018
The victims include a Bible college student in Iowa who was bicycling home from work, a 13-year-old Michigan boy riding in his older sister’s car and a Minnesota school bus driver picking up the morning newspaper in front of his home. All were killed in recent years by distracted drivers who had been texting or…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Paul Feldman on January 22, 2018
Amid a resurgence in U.S. traffic fatalities now taking roughly 100 lives a day, an advocacy group today issued a report card identifying states that do the most, and least, to improve highway safety.
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Paul Feldman on September 14, 2017
As tech companies and automakers, cheered on by the federal government, race to test and promote autonomous vehicles, several surveys show that most motorists don’t want to drive, ride in or be on the road anywhere near them. What’s more, as development efforts pick up steam, the level of public skepticism seems to be mounting….
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Consumer Protection, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Myron Levin on August 30, 2017
How many people are killed or seriously injured because of drivers fiddling with their cellphones? Due to widespread underreporting, no one really knows. In 2015, according to estimates of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 3,477 deaths caused by distracted driving, including 476 involving the use of cellphones. Depending who you ask, this last…
Posted in Notes | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Myron Levin on August 30, 2017
Just after noon on March 29, a pickup truck crossed the center line of a rural road in South Texas and slammed into a church bus, killing 13 members of the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels. A police report said the 20-year-old pickup driver, who survived, had taken medication and was texting. In other…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
By Christopher Jensen on April 25, 2017
The scope of deadly hazards such as texting and drug use by drivers may be underestimated and not adequately addressed because police aren’t collecting enough information at crash scenes, according to a new report. The report, released today by the National Safety Council, also found that no state systematically records whether crashes involve vehicles with…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving |
