Tips On Buying A New Car: Distracted Driving Summit

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The server was unable to process the request due to an internal error. For more information about the error, either turn on IncludeExceptionDetailInFaults (either from ServiceBehaviorAttribute or from the configuration behavior) on the server in order to send the exception information back to the client, or turn on tracing as per the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 SDK documentation and inspect the server trace logs.
Distracted Driving Summit — Edmunds.com edmunds.comReturn to Edmunds Classic | Tell us what you thinkWelcome, Guest | Sign In | Facebook Sign in | Account |Help Car Reviews Car Reviews and Road Tests Industry Car News Best Cars Lists Awards Blogs New Cars Calculators Car Finder Compare Cars Find a Dealer Incentives & Rebates Search Inventory True Cost to Own® Used Cars Appraise Your Car Certified Cars Selling Tips True Cost to Own® Used Car Finder Tips & Advice Buying and Leasing a Car Selling a Car Family and Car Safety Fuel Economy Car Technology Auto Financing Auto Insurance Auto Warranty Driving Tips Maintenance Maintenance Costs and Recalls True Cost to Own® Find a Repair Shop How-To Articles Maintenance Articles Forums Answers Browse Discussions Search Forums Home> Car Reviews> Industry Car News> Distracted Driving Summit Print | Email | Share | RSS Distracted Driving Summit Edmunds.com's Letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation

09/17/2010

Dear Secretary LaHood,

I have noticed with interest that your National Distracted Driving Summit is to be held on September 21st in Washington DC. I understand that transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement, industry representatives, researchers and victims will discuss distracted driving.

This is great politics — after all, who could possibly stand in the way of saving lives? But will it lead to great policy?

"Distracted driving" as a concept lends itself to oversimplification. Even the label is over simplified. Are we talking about distractions from personal technology? Distractions from talking passengers? Distractions from stress at work? Distractions from vehicle controls? Etc, etc.

It is easy to look at a successful example of government mandates (seatbelt use comes to mind) and apply it to distracted driving. But this would be a mistake. Seatbelts had no downside. Buckling up required habit, but nothing was given up.

Many of the potential sources of distracted driving provide benefit. There are trade-offs involved. So I would suggest there is one group notably absent from your summit: Drivers. They need to be heard as well.

Clearly, eating, shaving, applying make-up and texting are all activities that have no place behind the wheel. But what about using technology that delivers real-time traffic updates? These will save millions of gallons of fuel — and potentially lives — through avoiding congestion. Should these be banned?

Let's avoid a rush to regulate and insure that your Summit is open to hearing from all sides. Please let me know if you would like some specific suggestions from Edmunds.com.

Regards,

Jeremy Anwyl
Chief Executive Officer
Edmunds.com Inc.

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