NTSB official urges focus on distracted driving

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker spoke before the International Symposium on Distracted Driving in Arlington, Va., emphasizing the hazards caused by driver distractions.

Rosenker noted that many of the Safety Board's recommendations stem from crashes involving distracted driving by commercial and school bus drivers, and by teen drivers. The Safety Board has investigated six crashes in which distractions played a major role in the cause of the crash — three of those crashes involved school bus drivers.

The Safety Board noted that novice drivers and commercial operators that carry passengers, including school bus drivers, should be prohibited from using wireless communications devices while driving.

Rosenker also discussed the future of preventing crashes and reducing injuries with enhanced vehicle safety technology and strict enforcement of highway safety laws. He urged states to enact graduated driver licensing legislation that grant teens incrementally more driving authority, restrict the number of teen passengers traveling with young novice drivers and prohibit use of wireless communications devices by young novice drivers.

To read the complete text of Chairman Rosenker's speech, click here.