Busy Time for U.S. Department of Transportation 2010 National Distracted Driving Summit and Child Passenger Safety Week
The 2010 National Distracted Driving Summit began this past Tuesday, September 21. This week (September 19-25) is Child Passenger Safety Week. Just prior to the Distracted Driving Summit U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that distracted driving-related crashes claimed 5,474 lives and led to 448,000 traffic injuries across the U.S. in 2009. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research, distraction-related fatalities represented 16 percent of overall traffic fatalities in 2009 the same percentage as in 2008. Transportation Secretary LaHood also announced new anti-distracted driving regulations for drivers transporting hazardous materials,