Survey: Distracted Driving a Growing Problem

WRC-TV Washington reported on its website: "New statistics from the NTSB show just how big of a problem distracted driving in work zones really is in the Washington region." A new survey released "by Transurban-Fluor, in partnership with AAA Mid-Atlantic, shows that 40 percent of drivers in work zones use their cell phones." NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman commented, "NTSB issued a recommendation last December recommending to states that they ban talking or texting on the phone while behind a wheel, except for emergency situations."


The Washington Post reported, "With miles of highway construction underway in Northern Virginia, the region's police officers say work-zone accidents have increased dramatically because drivers are using mobile devices to talk or text." A new survey by AAA and Transurban "of 409 police officers who patrol Northern Virginia's roadways, found that cellphone use was to blame in one in three work-zone accidents." Approximately "80 percent said banning cellphone use behind the wheel would dramatically reduce road accidents." The article also notes last year's recommended ban on all cellphone use while driving from the NTSB.