Green Valley News & Sun, October 3, 2009

Never before have we as a society been so connected, and never have the consequences been so dire.

Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, texting, even “old-fashioned” cell phone calls keep us in touch. But when we can’t cut off the communication to drive, we endanger lives.

We have been told for some time that leaving our cell phones turned on during flights may disrupt the flight navigation or communications systems to the point that it could cause a crash.

We all dutifully turn our cell phones off when we board and everyone turns them back on as soon as we land.

Yet many think nothing of using cell phones to talk, text or surf the Web when driving.

This is a potentially fatal mistake.

As co-chairperson of the Congressional Motorcycle Safety Caucus and a rider myself, I have a vested interest in the impacts distracted driving can have on motorcyclists.

But everyone is impacted by distracted driving. That’s why I am glad that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood held a summit this week on distracted driving.

Participants at the two-day summit learned that distracted driving killed nearly 6,000 people last year.

This problem, though, is not new. According to a 2006 research report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event.

Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.

Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable.

Riders and their machines are smaller and harder to spot than cars and trucks under normal circumstances and given that motorcyclists make up a relatively small percentage of all road users, drivers often do not expect to encounter motorcycles.

Add distraction and motorcycles are far less likely to be noticed.

Younger drivers are also particularly at risk as they are most likely to engage in texting and other activities that distract focus from driving.

It is important that we make sure they understand that behind the wheel is no place to use their phones and other gadgets.

If we can’t convince our children to put down their phones when they drive we may face the sobering reality of their causing a fatal crash or that they will have to live the rest of their lives knowing that they killed another human being.

Advancing technology makes life easier these days. We have less fear of being “stranded on the side of the road” than ever before.

Now a simple cell phone call or text can bring aid in a matter of minutes, but the new technology brings new responsibilities. It is imperative that we find a way to reduce distract.

Gabrielle Giffords is the congressional representative for District 8. The views expressed are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.