Univ. of Pikeville students hear of horrors of texting while driving, actively sign pledge to stop the practice

Alyson Gibson, a student at the
University of Pikeville, signs the 'No
Text on Board' pledge.

Maybe it was a surprise to some in the crowd but texting and driving has been illegal in Kentucky since April 15, 2010. Still, the folks at the University of Pikeville thought it was a message that bore repeating. On Thursday, they did so.  In recognition of the national “No Text on Board” effort, UPike professors, state legislators and AT&T representatives asked students to pledge to just not do it. The pledge was intended to be a lifetime choice. The only exception to the law is if drivers need to report illegal activity or need to summons medical or emergency aid. Fines for texting while driving in the state can be up to $50, plus court costs.

Students could watch a video of the aftermath of accidents where drivers had been preoccupied with texting. According to the AT&T rep on campus Thursday, someone is killed or injured in this country every five minutes in an accident where texting and driving is involved. (Read more)

Do Higher Fines Really Work to Reduce Your Speed?

The government is planning to increase speeding fines by more than 66 per cent from £60 to £100. At a time when many people in the UK are experiencing financial hardship, the proposal has puzzled many motoring experts.

Excessive Speed
Speed is one of the main causes of injury on roads throughout Britain. Claims for whiplash compensation often result from accidents in which motorists have driven too closely to others at excessive speeds and government officials are keen to reduce the impact of compensation claims on the UK economy. Curbing speed, it is thought, should help to reduce accident rates.

Deterrent or Disingenuous?
Justice Secretary Ken Clarke estimates that raising fines for speeding motorists will generate an additional £30 million every year. The money, he argues, could be used to compensate crime victims. However, a victim's surcharge of £15 is already levied on offenders who are fined in court and there has been no suggestion that the surcharge will be altered to accommodate the proposed £40 rise in speeding fines. Critics, therefore, have condemned the government for planning to introduce another so-called stealth tax when motorists are already suffering from the effects of higher insurance premiums.

The increase might appear to be a veiled attempt to raise cash by a cash-strapped government, but will it also serve as a deterrent for speeding motorists? The simple answer is maybe. Nobody can predict how drivers will respond to the threat of a £100 speeding fine. Would law-breaking motorists suddenly change their driving habits if fines increase by £40? Is a £60 ticket not a sufficient deterrent? If not, would £100 be more effective? Why not £150 or £200? Why not £500? Though a line must be drawn somewhere, the principal objective of deterring dangerous driving perhaps ought not to assigned an arbitrary value.

Perhaps fines should not increase at all. It could also be argued that increasing fines to better support the victims of crime is futile. If more money were spent on policing the roads, installing speed cameras and improving road signage, would road traffic accidents not fall in proportion? Would fewer victims not require less support, thereby reducing their burden on the public purse? Claims for compensation have become an issue in the UK, so would it not be more prudent to propose ways in which the number of road accidents can be reduced rather than focus on fining offenders more?

Road Safety
Regardless of whether the proposed increase would serve as a deterrent or stealth tax, its reach would extend far beyond speeding motorists. In a bid to improve road safety, the rise in fines would also apply to motorists who fail to wear seatbelts and those who use mobile phones while driving. Drivers who ignore traffic signals and pedestrian crossings would also be affected by the increased penalty.

On this basis, it would be unreasonable to argue that higher fines are unfair, but on the issue of speeding the theory is less clear. Reported casualties among road users in Britain have been on the decline for a number of years. Speeding is still a serious problem in the UK, but traffic-calming measures, cameras and speed-awareness campaigns have already encouraged drivers to slow down. It remains to be seen whether higher fines would achieve the same.

For more motoring and car related information visit Hughes Carlisle.

By Sophie Banat

'One Text or Call Could Wreck It All' traffic safety campaign being promoted this month

A new traffic campaign with the slogan of "One Text or Call Could Wreck It All" is being sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this month.

April has been designated Distract Driving Awareness Month, with Kentucky law-enforcement agencies committed to spreading the word. In 2009, nearly 5,500 people were killed and another half a million people were hurt in accidents caused by distracted driving, according to national safety administration figures.

The national effort "focuses on ways to change the behavior of drivers through legislation, enforcement, public awareness and education — the same activities that have curbed drunken driving and increased seat belt use," The Courier-Journal reports.

Officials said they want to reach teen drivers especially with the effort, since that group has the highest proportion of distracted drivers who were involved in fatal crashes. (Read more)