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Distraction:
The performance degradation of a primary task upon introduction of a
secondary act. Secretary of
Transportation Ray LaHood convened an important two-day meeting in
Washington DC last week to shine a light on the increasing incidents and
opportunities to be distracted while operating a car or public
transportation vehicle. Naturally, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF)
was represented at that meeting. With the
amount of distraction from increased use of cell phones (some with full
keyboards), GPS systems, DVD players and the vast array of other complex
video displays at an all-time high, it should not come as a surprise that
the opportunity for an operator of any vehicle to become distracted has
risen significantly in just the past few years. Distracted
driving is certainly not a new issue. One could argue that the minute
someone in Detroit came up with the idea to put lighters and ashtrays in
cars, or when a little company called Motorola produced the first in-car
audio entertainment device, or when Ray Kroc sold his first burger out of
the window of his restaurant, distracted driving was born.
What’s truly
startling is the dramatic rise in the amount of “texting” people are doing
behind the wheel. Some stats say sending and receiving text messages while
driving is up 500 percent in just the past two years. Because of the
complexities involved with typing on a handheld keyboard, some experts
refer to texting while driving as the perfect storm for disaster.
The two-day
meeting brought together experts of all types including auto
manufacturers, cell phone providers, government officials, state
legislators, behavioral experts and even a rocket scientist from NASA who
specializes in the distraction of pilots under heavy cognitive load.
Cognitive load is the amount of brain power you use to complete a task,
relative to the complexity of the task, or as we learned, thinking about
or talking about anything overly emotional. The other forms of distraction
are visual (eyes off the road) or manual (hands off the wheel).
We know that
distraction is a problem for all road users, and particulary motorcyclists
and other vulnerable road users, but what can we do about it? Ray LaHood
said it best when he opened the meeting with the statement, “You cannot
legislate behavior.” Eighteen states and DC have enacted
texting-while-driving bans. While this is a good start, it’s sort of
missing the mark. Banning texting may remove one part of the equation, but
that means it’s still ok to eat a burrito, watch a movie, paint your
nails, pick something up off the passenger side floor, or talk on a
hands-free cell phone, all while checking out your hair in the flip-down
vanity mirror. Any ban at the state level should be against all forms of
distracted driving, not just a few specific forms. THERE OUGHTA
BE A LAW Senator Chuck
Schumer from NY and Amy Klobuchar from MN both made an appearance at the
event to plug some legislation they both support. Their bill,
inappropriately called the Alert Drivers Act, would force states to pass
texting bans or forfeit a whopping 25% of their road money. The feds have
a long history of using this sort of “carrot and stick” approach to
forcing states to enact legislation, and it’s problematic for a variety of
reasons. The MRF
simply cannot support the bills (S. 1536 and HR 3535) to force states to
pass texting bans for the simple reason that this is the same method that
is used to force states to pass helmet laws, and blackmailing the states
to enact legislation that they may or may not want should be strongly
discouraged. The two-day
meeting is certainly a good start to the conversation about distracted
driving, but far too much focus was given to texting instead of keeping
all distractions on the table. We at the MRF hope that discussion
continues, and we look forward to working with the powers that be to put
distracted driving on the decline. KILTS VS BIBS
– ROUND FOUR! I have to
hand it to the Bibs this year. Those old guys spent the summer working out
or something because they dragged us Kilts up and down the tug-o-war
arena. After suffering devastating losses two years in row, the Bibs came
back en force. Although league officials are murmuring about a possible
violation in tug-o-war rules by the suspendered bikers, we won’t let that
tarnish an otherwise flawless victory. So that leaves it all tied up for
the ropers, 2 for the Bibs and 2 for the Kilts. Rumor is the Kilts are
embarking on a vision quest sometime in the off-season to soothe the soul
and re-emerge next fall in Peoria, IL for MOTM and the fifth show down.
Don’t miss round 5, the Thunder-Dome! ========================================================== Ride With
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Information contained in this release is copyrighted. Reproduction
permitted with attribution. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, incorporated
in 1987, is a membership-based, national motorcyclists' rights
organization headquartered in Washington, DC. The first motorcyclists'
rights organization to establish a full-time presence in Washington, DC,
the Motorcycle Riders Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted
exclusively to the street rider. The MRF established MRFPAC in the early
1990s to advocate the election of candidates who would champion the cause
of rider safety and rider freedom. The MRF
proudly claims state motorcyclists' rights organizations and the very
founders of the American riders' rights movement among its leading
members. The MRF is involved in federal and state legislation and
regulations, motorcycling safety education, training, and public
awareness. The MRF provides members and state motorcyclists' rights
organizations with direction and information, and sponsors annual regional
and national educational seminars for motorcyclists rights activists, as
well as publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, THE MRF
REPORTS. |