DOT releases Distracted Driving Summit agenda

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced the agenda for the Distracted Driving Summit to be held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

The summit will cover current research, regulations and best practices, and will feature panels on the topics of data, research, technology, policy and outreach.

Day 1 begins with a panel that will examine the scope of the distracted-driving problem and the types of distractions across surface modes of transportation. Officials from the Federal Highway Administration, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the National Transportation Safety Board are among the panelists.

Next, representatives from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and various research institutions will discuss experimental research, industry self-reporting and collision studies related to distracted driving. The third panel of the day will address distractions caused by technology and will also look at technology that can prevent the consequences of distraction.

On Day 2, the opening panel will review legislative and regulatory approaches to the problem, with panelists from the Federal Transit Administration and other government agencies. In addition, a panel on public awareness and education will feature officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, MADD and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as well as the editor-in-chief at Seventeen magazine.

The summit will close with an address and presentation of an action plan by LaHood.

To accommodate the strong response, the summit will be available live by Webcast, and members of the public will be given the opportunity to submit questions online for each individual panel discussion.

The complete agenda and additional information about the summit can be found at www.rita.dot.gov/distracted_driving_summit/.