Report: Senate pushes distracted driving issue back to the states
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/" rel="tag">Government/Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/safety/" rel="tag">Safety</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/tech/" rel="tag">Technology</a></p><a href="http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2010/06/senate-kicks-distracted-driving-back-to-the-states/"><img vspace="4" hspace="0" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/06/distracted-driving-mascara-getty-630.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
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If you were waiting for the federal government to lay down the law on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/08/lahood-launches-first-federally-funded-distracted-driving-crackd/">distracted driving</a>, we've got bad news for you. New bipartisan legislation from Congress has effectively put the issue back into the hands of individual states. That means that instead of a single, nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving like most advocates were hoping for, we'll likely be stuck with the same status quo for a few more years. According to <a href="http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2010/06/senate-kicks-distracted-driving-back-to-the-states/">TheDetroitBureau.co m</a>, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has voted to approve a program that would provide grant incentives for states to enact their own legislation to curb distracted driving. <br />
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Thing is, the program is funded through existing programs, making it a half-hearted effort to address a real problem<span style="font-style: italic;">. </span>TDB sites statistics that claim 16 percent of all traffic fatalities involve <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/30/volvo-buying-full-page-ads-to-pledge-support-for-distracted-driv/">distracted driving</a>, and that in 2008, 6,000 people died as a result of not paying attention to the road. So why didn't Congress take a stand and enact legislation that would limit highway funding unless states brought in laws to stop drivers from using their cell phones behind the wheel? <br />
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The short answer appears to be that no one in D.C. is willing to do anything that might upset a large selection of voters this close to November. So do us a favor and know your limits behind the wheel. Honestly, that call or <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/25/california-outlaws-texting-while-driving-finally/">text</a> can wait.<br />
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[Source: <a href="http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2010/06/senate-kicks-distracted-driving-back-to-the-states/">TheDetroitBureau.co m</a> | Image: Getty]<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/11/report-senate-pushes-distracted-driving-issue-back-to-the-state/">Report: Senate pushes distracted driving issue back to the states</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/11/report-senate-pushes-distracted-driving-issue-back-to-the-state/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19512497/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/11/report-senate-pushes-distracted-driving-issue-back-to-the-state/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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