Preventing Deadly Distracted Driving
The Honorable Anthony Foxx, U.S. Secretary of Transportation

QUESTION FROM ONLINE CHAT

How about ‘risk factor’ for injury and harm? Behavioral syndrome’?

QUESTION FROM ONLINE CHAT

Could meditation or CBT/DBT help with cultivating a population with better ‘attention spans’?

QUESTION FROM ONLINE CHAT

Any thoughts of enlisting places like McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants, where young people stand in line every day, as a place to show Distraction.gov’s PSA’s. It would take a business like McDonald’s to embrace the cause, and do something about it.

QUESTION FROM ONLINE CHAT

How deep is the ‘body of knowledge’ on distracted driving or distracted operating of complicated equipment?

QUESTION FROM TWITTER

Q: Data shows handsfree phone use just as dangerous as handheld. Wrong message not to ban it?

QUESTION FROM TWITTER

Q: You can’t keep a cell phone out of a car but you can keep a touchscreen out.

QUESTION FROM TWITTER

Q: Can we draw parallels btwn driving under the influence of alcohol and #distracteddriving?

QUESTION FROM EMAIL

The discussions around distracted driving seems to focus on cellphone usage as the main cause of distracted driving, but what is the impact of in-car consoles, radios, or even conversations with passengers?

Could the new backup camera requirement encourage added electronic distractions in cars?

Thank you,

Joey N

QUESTION FROM EMAIL

I work as a paramedic, a position that I have held for the past 35 years.

I am curious about the increasingly popular practice of some Emergency Medical Services providers (specifically, some ambulance crews/personnel) – – when responding to an emergency call, or enroute to the hospital (with a patient in the patient compartment of the ambulance), of playing the AM/FM/Satellite Radio in the front of the ambulance (the cockpit, so to speak) , while driving. In many cases, there could be one or more two-way radios emitting voice radio traffic at the same time. I won’t complicate my question by making reference to the additionally emerging practice of (the driver) reading a smart phone or texting at the same time. Does this (the AM/FM/Satellite Radio playing) constitute a “distraction” to driving, and potentially represent an unsafe driving practice?

Specifically, I wonder, would you consider having an AM/FM/Satellite radio playing at a conversational level, as contributory to “distracted driving” while (1) responding with lights and sirens to an emergency call, or (2) while transporting a patient to the hospital (with or without lights and sirens)? I should point out that during the latter, the transport phase, there is typically, only one person – – the driver – – in the front of the ambulance? Does it matter if that AM/FM/Satellite Radio is playing music, talk radio, news or sports during that period (e.g. could music possibly be considered “medicinal” or “soothing” during this period…….or distracting)?

I should add a few things. First, there is a growing trend in health care to adopt “safety practices” from the aviation industry. An example of which, is referred to here:

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Checklist-Aviation-Teamwork-Politics/dp/0801478294/ref=tmm_pap_title_0/191-0064283-1831014

Second, in commercial aviation, the cockpit becomes “sterile” during certain high-risk periods, such as take-offs and landings. This period strikes me as analogous to the period when an ambulance is responding to an emergency call or transporting a patient to the hospital.

Third, Jay; Dr. Winsten, hi! I don’t think I’ve talked with you or seen you in 15-20 years. I hope this email finds you well. About 20 years ago, I was a contributor to the Harvard (HSPH) Injury Control Center, and collaborated with John Graham, PhD, David Hemenway, PhD, Nancy Isaac, ScD, Ilana Lescohier, PhD, Lucian Leape, MD, and Bruce Kennedy, EdD. That was a time that HSPH had a keen interest in injury control, and we were attempting to bring injury control and public health practices to emergency medical services.

Many thanks.

William

QUESTION FROM EMAIL

Greetings;

Do bicycles have as much right to the road as automobiles?

Thank You

William R. M

It ultimately becomes a personal responsibility. When people look at someone talking on a cell phone (while driving) in the same manner that they would look on someone throwing litter out of a moving vehicle the window. This is a national problem and you can educate people about the dangers, We can spend billions educating people about the dangers, but it still comes down to individual responsibility.