U.S. Legislative Updates

On Tuesday, March 27, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hosted a distracted driving forum – Attentive Driving: Countermeasures for Distraction forum. The one-day forum looked at the broad range of distractions that compete for driver's attention, characterized the various distracted driver laws, and discussed the differences in how states have adopted restrictions. The purpose of the forum was to examine countermeasures that can mitigate distracted driving behaviors. Forum panels considered the findings of distracted driver research and will promote ongoing and future efforts to promote attentive driving and eliminate distracted driving accidents. Specific countermeasures addressed included distracted driving laws and enforcement, changing attitudes and behaviors through education and outreach, and technology and design countermeasures.

In September, the NTSB recommended that the Department of Transportation ban nearly all calls from behind the wheel — including hand-held and hands-free calls.