What do Oprah, the Department of Transportation, the Triple A, insurance companies and, state governors have in common?

The United States Transportation Department recently proposed to forbid text messaging at the wheel by interstate truck and bus drivers. This regulatory action follows up on Transportation Department call to mitigate distractions that cause crashes. The plan would make permanent the temporary ban announced at the beginning of the calendar year by the Transportation Secretary. The planned ban applies to drivers of passenger buses and commercial trucks operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over five tons. To give an idea of the serious nature of the problem, violators could face civil penalties and/or even criminal penalties. The US Transportation Department reported almost 6,000 people died and over a half million were injured in 2008 in crashes involving distracted drivers. The department has not determined how many of those accidents involved an electronic device. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reflects the Transportation Department estimates with projection that around eighty percent of accidents are caused by driver distraction. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is funding research to determine the extent of the distracted driver problem. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) states that driver inattention is a determining factor in many crashes, and mobile phone use and sending text messages are some of the most common driver distractions. State legislatures have responded to the growing outrage over mobile phone calls and texting while driving by enacting a variety of new laws, inclucing banning handheld cell phone use or texting by all drivers or restricting mobile phone use or sending text messages for a specific demographic, such as teens or school bus drivers. The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that twenty states and the District of Columbia outlaw drivers of all types of vehicles from sending text messages while behind the wheel. An additional nine states prohibiting texting by beginning drivers. The remaining states are expected to implement the ban before too long. However it is also believed that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are required. The Governors Highway Safety Association says it supports texting bans for all drivers, but does have concerns about enforcement. The trucking and passenger bus industries support the texting prohibition, and many corporations have firm policies against texting while driving. The government, industry and safety organizations all agree that distracted drivers caused bytexting is a menace to society, and is worthy of action. Advocates for addressing the problem also include celebrity Oprah Winfrey. The issue is a relatively new phenomenon. As navigation systems, cellphones and other mobile electronics have become ubiquitous in vehicles, safety advocates and the government have pushed for restrictions.