1/8/18 Update: News-Press printed BWL's letter as on op ed in the Jan. 8th edition: "As fatalities surge, we urge strong no texting while driving law", by Darla Letourneau on behalf of BWL
1/10/18 Update: Good news...on Jan. 9th, the Florida House Transportation Committee unanimously approved SB 90 (companion bill to HB 33). See News-Press article: Tougher texting-while-driving ban moves in Florida house, 1/10/18.
January 4, 2018
Members of Lee County
Legislative Delegation:
BikeWalkLee, a coalition raising public awareness and advocating
for complete streets in Lee County, has long urged the Legislature to improve
the safety of all road users in Florida.
In particular, our top legislative priority for the past five years has
been passing a bill to strengthen Florida's laws dealing with distracted
driving, in particular the weak “texting while driving” law. As the 2018 legislative session begins, we
urge you to strengthen roadway safety laws to address the growing dangers of
distracted driving. Specifically, we
request that you co-sponsor the pending bill (HB 33) that would make texting
while driving a primary offense.
Across the nation, overall traffic fatalities have surged in the
past three years. In Florida, traffic
fatalities climbed by 21% between 2014 and 2016. In Lee County, fatal traffic crashes
increased much faster – 30% during the same two-year period, and to 43% during
2014 to 2017 (from preliminary 2017 data).
According to the Florida Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles,
there were almost 50,000 crashes involving distracted driving in Florida in
2016, and these crashes accounted for more than 3,500 serious injuries and 233
deaths.
Most experts agree that the primary cause of the surge in traffic
fatalities is distracted driving, increasingly caused by the use of smartphones
and internet apps. According to the
recent national “Safe Driving Report: 2016-2017” (issued by the insurance firm
EverQuote Inc.), Florida ranked the
second-worst state for distracted driving.
Recent studies show there is a relationship between individual
state roadway safety rankings and that state’s driver safety laws and
enforcement of those laws. While Florida
is one of the most dangerous state in the country for road users, it ranks as
the seventh worst state for driver safety laws (2016 study by the Advocates
for Highway and Auto Safety). While the Legislature finally adopted a “texting
while driving” ban in 2012, it was a weak bill and only a first step in
addressing this growing epidemic. Florida is one of only four states that
doesn't make texting while driving a primary offense. Clearly, one of the reasons
Florida's traffic fatalities are among the highest in the nation is that it has
very weak driver safety laws in place.
Florida's alarming increase in traffic fatalities is not only a
concern for driver safety, it is of particular concern for vulnerable road
users -- pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists -- who are at the greatest
risk when drivers take their eyes off the road.
The national 2016 “Dangerous by Design” report ranked Florida as the most dangerous state in the country
for pedestrians, and eight of the
most dangerous metro areas in the U.S. are in Florida, with Lee County being ranked the most dangerous
in the country!
This is a crisis that can
no longer be ignored by the state of Florida.
It is critically important that the Legislature take action this
year to address the growing dangers
presented by the use of electronic devices while driving. At a minimum, the Legislature must strengthen
its current texting law so that texting while driving is made a primary
offense. In previous legislative
sessions, bills have been introduced which made texting while driving a primary
offense, doubled the fines, and provided enhanced penalties for violations when
committed in a school zone or school crossing. However, in each of the past
five years, the Legislature failed to take any action to strengthen its weak
anti-texting law, and took no action to address the broader causes of distracted
driving.
For the 2018 session of the Legislature, a bill has already been
introduced (HB 33) that would make texting while driving a primary offense. We
urge the Lee delegation to support HB 33 and work to ensure that the bill is
enacted this year. In addition, we
encourage the Lee County Delegation to play a leadership
role in pressing the Legislature to go beyond this texting bill and address
more comprehensively the growing epidemic of distracted driving.
Thank you for
your support.
/s/
Darla Letourneau
on behalf of BikeWalkLee
cc: Lee MPO Members
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