Distracted driving accidents are soaring and emerging as a majorcause of work-related accidents, and the related claims are aliability issue for employers and their insurancecarriers. Liability falls upon the employers for workers'compensation benefits andpotential liability damages by innocent injuredthird-parties. Additionally, employers may be subject to fines byregulatory agencies such as TheOccupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA).

A bill to address cell phone abuse while driving has beenproposed by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, D-NY4.McCarthy, a victim of an accident caused by texting while driving,is a former nurse who has made public health and safety ahallmark of her tenure in Congress. She has announced new federallegislation that would create a single national standardprohibiting the use of handheld mobile devices while driving.

"Driving while making a phone call, texting or using 'apps' canbe as dangerous as driving drunk, and much more common," Rep.McCarthy says. "With some basic commonsense rules that are alreadyin place in some parts of the country, we can reduce injuries andsave lives in America."

The SafeDrivers Act of 2011 focuses on two primaryefforts. First, it directs the U.S. Secretary ofTransportation to establish minimum regulations that ban the use ofhand-held mobile devices on a public road while operating a movingor idling motor vehicle, except in the case of anemergency. There are exclusions, including voice-operated,vehicle-integrated devices, as well as voice-operated GPSsystems. 

The bill also requires the federal Department of Transportation(DOT) to conduct a study on distracted driving, focusingparticularly on the issue of cognitive distraction and the impactof distraction on young and inexperienced drivers. In two years,DOT must report the findings of this study to Congress and providerecommendations for revising the minimum distracted drivingprohibitions and penalties by which states must comply.

The penalty for not complying with the DOT's minimum standardswithin 2 years of enactment would be a withholding of 25 percent ofa state's federal highway transportation funding.

The legislation is modeled after the nation's federal bloodalcohol content (BAC) standard, the violation of which also resultsin a withholding of federal transportation funds (though no statehas been in violation of the federal BAC standard). States that arepenalized can receive their funds as soon as they are in compliancewith federal law. Clickhere to read the full legislation.  

Different States, Different Laws

With a potpourri of laws in different states—including somestates with no laws whatsoever limiting cell phone use whiledriving—distracted driving is rapidly becoming a deadly problemacross the nation.

According to the NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,474 people died as aresult of driver distraction in 2009, making up about 16 percent ofall fatalities as a result of auto crashes that year. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safetysays that using a cell phone makes a driver four times more likelyto be in an accident that causes injury.

Right now, 13 states have no laws addressing handheld voicecalls: Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada,Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin andWyoming.

Ten states have no laws addressing texting while driving:Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio,Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota. Eightstates have no laws whatsoever limiting the use of cell phoneswhile driving, whether for voice calls or texting: Florida, Idaho,Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and SouthDakota.

Only 8 states prohibit all drivers—including novice drivers, busdrivers and regular adults—from using handheld cell phones whiledriving: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey,New York, Oregon and Washington.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,immediately after New York banned cell phone use while driving in2001, cell phone use declined an estimated 47percent. Since then, handheld cell phone use by New YorkDrivers is down an estimated 24 percent.

Kelly Cline, a Buffalo, NY-area mother who lost her 20-year-oldson A.J. Larson in a texting-while-driving accident in 2007 andco-founded the 1,000-member FamiliesAgainst Texting While Driving organization, gives the SafeDrivers Act of 2011 a very personal endorsement.

"I know all too well the tragic outcome that distracted drivingcan lead to in a split second," Cline says. "No one shouldlose their life because of an easily avoidable problem that societyhasn't made a serious issue of. I hope that what happenedto my family serves as a wake-up call to our legislators, and Ithank Congresswoman McCarthy for her leadership. Hopefullywe can raise awareness about distracted driving and stop anothertragedy from happening."