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HOUSE PASSES MARKEY RESOLUTION NAMING APRIL NATIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH
[March 24, 2010]

HOUSE PASSES MARKEY RESOLUTION NAMING APRIL NATIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH


Mar 24, 2010 (Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Contact BEN MARTER 202-503-7888 HOUSE PASSES MARKEY RESOLUTION NAMING APRIL NATIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH WASHINGTON--The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.Res. 1186 by a vote of 410 to 2. Authored by Congresswoman Betsy Markey, the resolution will designate the month of April as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The resolution encourages all Americans to consider the lives of others on the road and put an end to distracted driving.



According to a recent National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, 80 percent of all traffic incidents and 65 percent of all near-crashes involve some type of distraction. Driver distraction was reported to have been involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008, a 12 percent increase since 2004.

In 2008, 9-year-old Erica Forney of Fort Collins, Colorado was struck and killed by a distracted driver while riding her bicycle home from school.


"Studies have shown that distracted driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk and while everyone knows that drunk driving is dangerous, far fewer people are aware of the risks of distracted driving," said Rep. Markey. "A driver increases the risk of a crash by 2,300 percent if he or she is texting while driving. Currently, twenty states have enacted texting while driving bans, and I am proud to say that Colorado is one of them." Watch Rep. Markey's speech on the floor of the House of Representatives: http://www.youtube.com/user/RepBetsyMarkey'feature=mhw4#p/u/6/TXirRG6A8 Full text of Rep. Markey's remarks: Mister Speaker, I rise today to raise awareness about a deadly trend in our nation, distracted driving. Eighty percent of all crashes involve some sort of distraction, and in 2008, nearly 6,000 people lost their lives in accidents involving a distracted driver. One of those 6,000 was Erica Forney from Fort Collins, Colorado. Nine year old Erica was riding her bike home from school when she was struck and killed by a large SUV whose driver was on a cell phone. The driver said she never even saw Erica who was a mere 15 pedals away from her home.

The tragic story of Erica's death is all too common and, worse, her story was preventable. I introduced House Resolution 1186 to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. This resolution will designate April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Studies have shown that distracted driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk and while everyone knows that drunk driving is dangerous, far fewer people are aware of the risks of distracted driving. A driver increases the risk of a crash by 2,300 percent if he or she is texting while driving. Currently, twenty states have enacted texting while driving bans, and I am proud to say that Colorado is one of them.

The federal government has also taken a stand against distracted driving. The Department of Transportation introduced federal guidance to prohibit texting by drivers of commercial vehicles. President Obama issued an executive order banning texting while driving on official business for federal employees. Last September, Secretary LaHood held a distracted driving summit and celebrated the establishment of FocusDriven, a national non-profit dedicated to ending this epidemic and to providing support for families who have lost loved ones. After hearing the stories of those involved with FocusDriven, even Oprah has urged the public to make their cars a "no phone zone." I urge all of my colleagues to take the no phone zone pledge. The risks that you present to yourself and to others by driving distractedly are not worth it. Please pull over to take a call or to send a text message. I urge a yes vote on House Resolution 1186 and ask for the help of my colleagues in ending this epidemic of distracted driving.

Thank you, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Full text of Rep. Markey's resolution: H. Res. 1186 RESOLUTION Expressing support for designation of April as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Whereas 9-year-old Erica Forney of Fort Collins, Colorado was struck and killed by a distracted driver in 2008, Whereas there were more than 276 million wireless cell phone subscribers in the United States as of June 2009, an increase of 42 percent from 194 million in June 2005, and nearly three times more than the 97 million wireless subscribers in June 2000; Whereas over 600 billion text messages were sent in 2008, nearly four times the number sent in 2006; Whereas, according to the recent National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, 80 percent of all traffic incidents and 65 percent of all near-crashes involve some type of distraction; Whereas, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in incidents involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured; Whereas, according to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), driver distraction was reported to have been involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008, which is an increase from 12 percent in 2004, Whereas the Secretary of Transportation held a Distracted Driving Summit in September 2009; and Whereas April would be an appropriate month to designate as National Distracted Driving Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) supports the designation of April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month; (2) encourages all people in the United States to consider the lives of others on the road and avoid distracted driving; and (3) respectfully requests the Clerk of the House to transmit a copy of this resolution to FocusDriven, an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using cell phones.

### Ben Marter - Communications Director Congresswoman Betsy Markey (CO-04) P 202.226.8416

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