BikeWalkLee: The next step against distracted driving

BikeWalkLee Column
The News-Press, May 23, 2019
by Ken Gooderham

‘You can’t always get what you want, but you just might find you get what you need.’

With apologies to the Rolling Stones, that’s the feeling among many bike/ped safety advocates in the wake of the 2019 Florida Legislature. They’re happy that a bill to make texting (and more) while driving a primary offense (explanation to follow), but disappointed it did not go as far as originally proposed.

Some background: Florida Statutes currently ban texting while driving as a secondary offense – meaning a police officer cannot pull you over if he observes you texting, but can cite you for a violation if you are stopped for other violations AND discovered to be texting while driving on top of that.

It was one of a dwindling handful of states who did not make this a primary offense, with some jurisdictions going after not only drivers using a handheld device while under way and all forms of distracted driving – such as eating, grooming, reading and more. The logic here being it wasn’t the instrument of distraction that was the problem – it was the distraction itself, whatever the bright shiny object causing it.

For a while during the legislative sessions just past, it seemed as though Florida might join those ranks and tackle distractions overall rather than just texting. Alas, as is often the case with sausage-making in Tallahassee, some good ingredients were left out of the final product and the bill that finally won approval just elevated texting to a primary offense. Gov. DeSantis signed the bill May 17, and it will take effect in October (with some phase-in time expected).

Besides the switch to make texting a primary offense, the bill also targets use of any handheld wireless device (phone, laptop, tablet, etc.) in a school or work zone, making that a primary offense. Students and construction workers have enough to worry about from traffic alone… let alone from drivers who are not paying proper attention.

Chris Zuppa | Times

The bottom line: This bill is another step in the process, and a good one. Just as the original law laid the groundwork for this action, we can hope that this new law will eventually help make the case to a future Legislature to kick it up another notch and tackle distracted driving in all its forms.

The fact that the secondary-enforcement law still got a lot of motorists to stop texting and start driving is heartening. Of the 1,671 violations of the law cited in 2018, only 39 were for a second (or more) violation of the statute – so the vast majority of those busted for texting apparently took the hint and put down the phone (at least for a while).

We can hope the new bill has a similar impact, and that as it is enforced the prudence of banning distracted driving overall becomes more politically palatable – if not inevitable.

You can also be sure that the broad coalition that pushed for this bill this session will be back in front of their state representatives as the next session takes form to keep the issue of bike/ped safety in the forefront. Florida’s poor ranking nationwide in bike/ped safety coupled with its continued growth is a disaster in the making if distracted drivers are not reminded of their responsibilities (and liabilities) in helping to make our roadways safer.

Bike to Work Day

You probably missed Bike to Work Day last Friday. That’s when most of the country designates a day to encourage people to leave their cars in the garage and try biking to the office.

It’s a great idea, certainly apropos to our ease of riding and temperate climate. However, the third Friday in May is not exactly an ideal time to make the case for business biking. It works well in other areas of the country that are shaking off the winter chills and spring showers… but in Southwest Florida, May usually marks the transition to heat, humidity and the rainy season – all reasons people get off their bikes, rather than getting on. (That’s one reason Florida marks March as National Bike Month, rather than May as on the national level.)

Missing Bike to Work Day doesn’t mean you can’t bike to work throughout the year here. But it does mean that doing so takes either a forgiving workplace or a number of plans and preparations to make the process survivable. It also doesn’t mean either/or – either bike all the time or not at all. Some workdays may work well with cycling in, other may not. Even leaving the car at home only one day a week is still better than nothing – and it could be a good way to shake up your routine positively.

A study by the League of American Bicyclists shows bike commuting is on the rise nationwide – with some of the municipal leaders (such as Washington, DC, and New Orleans) found in places not always known for cool climates. It can be done, apparently… it just may not be as easy for cyclists.

So what if you missed Bike to Work Day last Friday. Doesn’t mean you can’t bike to work today..

 

Ready to ride or run? 

Run? Memorial Day offers two 5Ks – Sandoval in Cape Coral and SNIP Collier in Naples; 3dracinginc.com and gcrunner.org for details.

Ride? Lots of Critical Mass events upcoming: Saturday is the downtown Slow Roll in Fort Myers, followed by the Cape Coral night ride on May 31 and the Southwest Florida night ride June 7. Lights are required for night rides and helmets are recommended; details at meetup.com. Looking for summer activities for your kids? The first week-long Wheel Lee Fun camp kicks off June 10. Details at caloosariders.org. 

Both? Upcoming events include:

• Sunday, June 2: 33rd Annual Fitness Challenge Triathlon, Naples (trifind.com)
• Sunday, June 9: Heartland Sprint and Olympic Tri, Sebring (trifind.com)
• Sunday, June 23: Sirens Sprint Tri, Sarasota (trifind.com) 
• Registration is open for this year’s Galloway Captiva Tri on Sept. 7-8, which offers a new format this go-round with the sprint race on Saturday morning and the kids’ events Sunday morning. Details at www.gearedup.biz/captiva-triathlon.
• Willing to drive? Check trifind.com or active.com for tris around the state.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RIDE:

Have a favorite route you like to bike, or a unique walk you’d like to share with others? Tell us about it at info@bikewalklee.org, and maybe we can feature it in an upcoming column.

# # #

Ken Gooderham writes this on behalf of BikeWalkLee, a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County — streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Information, statistics and background online at www.BikeWalkLee.org. 


 

BWL Column: Don’t be driven to distraction

BikeWalkLee Column

The News-Press "Go Coastal" section, March 14, 2019

by Ken Gooderham

 

One of the many advantages of walking, running or biking is the opportunity to see more of what’s going on around you, since you’re moving at a more leisurely pace than your average car or truck. You also inevitably end up at intersections watching those same cars and trucks as they stop and start, turn and travel.
That probably means you also inevitably watch drivers do (or almost do) dumb things behind the wheel. Watch them long enough and you’ll probably detect a telling pattern: The drivers doing dumb things are more often than not distracted drivers, looking down at their phones’ texts or emails instead of looking up and watching out for the other road users.

 There are studies galore about how dangerous distracted driving is, both to the drivers and to anyone else sharing the road… particularly walkers, runners and cyclists who lack the protective tons of metal afforded to motor vehicles. Unfortunately, too many drivers are too busy looking at texts and emails or simply talking away on their phones behind the wheel to read said studies, so their dangerous behavior continues.

 Among the many prospective bills in the hopper this legislative session (which commenced March 5) is one which would make distracted driving – including texting, reading or talking on a cell phone -- a primary offense, meaning police officers could pull over drivers if they see that activity – not add that to the charge when some other illegal incident (say, running over a pedestrian) earns the driver police attention.

 Now that session is under way, the scope of this bill is being expanded to include all distractions that can divert a driver’s attention from the task at hand of rolling down the highway. That includes, and I quote:

·         Reading;

·         Writing;

·         Grooming;

·         Applying beauty products;

·         Interacting with pets and unsecured cargo;

·         Using personal wireless communications devices; or

·         Engaging in any other activity, conduct, task or actions which causes distractions.

There are a ton of studies that show the impact of distracted driving, the danger that not paying attention can mean for other road users, be they on foot, on bike or motorcycles or in another motor vehicle. I won’t bore you with statistics, but instead urge you to stand by the side of the road (but perhaps well off the road) and see how many distracted drivers you notice. I think you’ll be surprised.

 Is making any distraction a primary offense too much over-reach? The civil libertarians in the audience may think so… but, unfortunately, the rise in traffic fatalities both statewide and locally make an equally pressing case that stronger action is necessary to make a difference. (The proposed law also gives police some latitude for first-time offenses, so it may be possible to make an impact without issuing a ticket.)

 Other states seem to get it. A vast majority (reports say 43 and counting) make texting while driving a primary offense. These reports are less clear on how many have branched out to include other forms of distractions, but it just makes sense to target more common distractions if the goal is to get people to focus on actually driving while driving.

Perhaps we should take it one step further and work on some disincentives to distracted cycling or even walking. Wandering (or bicycling) around aimlessly while doing everything but walk or bike is equally dangerous; the only advantage is (usually) the only people put at risk are the ones who are doing the distracted action – not everyone else around them.

 If the Legislature starts getting cold feet on the concept of attacking every driving distraction (not uncommon as bills progress through hearings and revisions), we hope lawmakers at least stick to the original plan and make driving while texting or talking (e.g. using any wireless device) a primary offense. That would be a big step toward safer streets.

Ready to ride or run?

 Run?A pair of 5Ks for the next two weekends, with Scope for Hope and a Lee County Medical Society Foundation run on March 16, followed by a Marlins 5K in Fort Myers and a Baker Park 5K in Naples March 23. Details at ftmyerstrackclub.com, 3dracinginc.com and gcrunner.org.

 Ride? There’s a Critical Mass ride in NE Lee Friday night (http://www.meetup.com/Biking-SWFL/events/), and a Miracle Limbs Courage in Motion Benefit ride on Saturday, offering10-, 28-, 42- and 6-mile rides from North Collier Regional Park (active.com). The following weekend brings the annual Pedal and Play in Paradise in Punta Gorda, with 15-, 30- and 62-mile routes plus a Mystery Tour Sunday, plus a City Manager’s Tour Saturday.

 Both? Upcoming events include:

·         Saturday, May 11: Cape Coral Sprint Tri (trifind.com)

·         Saturday, May 18: Life’s a Beach Tri, Sarasota (trifind.com)

·         Sunday, June 2: 33rd Annual Fitness Challenge Triathlon, Naples (trifind.cm)

·         Sunday, June 9: Heartland Sprint and Olympic Tri, Sebring (trifind.com)

·         Sunday, June 23: Sirens Sprint Tri, Sarasota (trifind.com)

·         Registration is open for this year’s Galloway Captiva Tri on Sept. 7-8, which offers a new format this go-round with the sprint race on Saturday morning and the kids’ events Sunday morning. Details at www.gearedup.biz/captiva-triathlon.

·         Willing to drive? Check trifind.com or active.com for tris around the state.

# # #

Ken Gooderham writes this on behalf of BikeWalkLee,a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County—streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Information, statistics and background online at www.BikeWalkLee.org.

 

“Florida Driving While Distracted” bill begins Journey through Florida Legislature

Good News! The 2019 legislative session is underway in Tallahassee and the first step has been an encouraging one.

The Florida Legislature is once again considering whether to enact legislation to strengthen Florida’s woefully weak “texting while driving” statute, which only addresses texting and only makes a violation a secondary offense.  This year’s proposed bills are stronger than the ones considered in the past, starting with a Hands-Free free bill, restricting the use of cellphones while driving to only hand-free uses and making violations a primary offense. 

 

Senate action to date:
The first step in the process this year was the Feb. 19^th Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee consideration of Senator Simpson's bill, SB 76.    BikeWalkLee issued an action alert urging advocates to write the Committee in support of the bill.  And BikeWalkLee sent its letter on Feb. 14th.

At the Feb. 19^th Senate Committee hearing, the Committee presented a substitute bill which further strengthened SB 76, to cover all forms of distracted driving, not just cellphone use. Yes, use of hand-held cellphone and other distracted driving will be primary offense with penalties. This bill is the strongest yet to be proposed and supported by a key committee.

There were dozens of people representing a wide range of supporter organizations at the hearing to speak in support of this bill.  The Committee unanimously voted in support of SB 76 as amended. SB 76 is now known as the "Florida Driving While Distracted Law".

SB 76: bill text as approved by Senate Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 19, 2019

Link to status of bill and next steps

The next step in the Senate is for Senate Innovation, Industry, and Technology Committee to consider the bill. 

House action needed:
 To date, no action has been taken in the House. It’s important that the House take up this bill (HB 107), and to date, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee has not scheduled a hearing.  Click here for BikeWalkLee's Feb. 24th letter to the House Transportation Committee.

It is important for advocates to write the House Transportation Committee urging them to schedule consideration of this important legislation.  Click here to see the members of this subcommittee and how to contact them.

As the most dangerous state in the nation for pedestrians and one of the highest ranking states for traffic fatalities (based on population), 2019 must be the year that Florida begins to address the growing epidemic of distracted driving that is killing and injuring so many Floridians.

Action Alert: Feb. 19th Senate Committee considers SB 76," Hands-Free Florida Law"

The Florida Legislature is in session and this year's "Hands-Free Florida Law" bills are beginning through the legislative process.  The first action is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 19th, when the Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee considers Senator Simpson's bill, SB 76, "Use of Wireless Communications Devices While Driving". 

Below is the letter that BikeWalkLee sent to the Committee today, urging them to support SB 76 on Tuesday. At the end of this blog, there are also links to other related documents, including the action alert by the FL DNT TXTNDRV Coalition.

It is important for citizens to contact (phone or email) members of the Senate Committee prior to their Tuesday Feb. 19th 4:30 p.m. meeting.  See the list of members and links to how to contact them. 
Best way to contact them is to CALL:

 

Chair:  Senator Tom Lee (R) 850-487-5020

Vice-Chair: Senator Keith Perry (R) 850-487-5008

Senator Aaron Bean (R) 850-487-5004

Senator Janet Cruz (D) 850-487-5018

Senator Ed Hooper (R) 850-487-5016

Senator Travis Hutson (R) 850-487-5007

Senator Linda Stewart (D) 850-487-5013

Senator Annette Taddeo (D) 850-487-5040

February 14, 2019

 

 

 Members the Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee:

 

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 six 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 Committee considers SB 76 “Use of Wireless Communications Devices While Driving” on Feb. 19^th,  we urge you to support this bill that would make texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone a “primary” offense.  It is critical that Florida, one of the most dangerous states in the country for all road users (drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and cyclists), strengthen roadway safety laws to address the growing dangers of distracted driving.

 

Across the nation, overall traffic fatalities have surged in the past four years.  In Florida, traffic fatalities climbed by 25% between 2014 and 2017.  In Lee County, fatal traffic crashes increased much faster –40% between 2014 to 2017. 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 smart phones and internet apps. The National Safety Council reports that the risk of a crash is four times greater when a cell phone is in use. According to the 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 states 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). Florida is one of only four states that doesn't make texting while driving a primary offense—which allows police to pull over motorists for offenses. 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 2019 “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. This is a crisis that can no longer be ignored by the Florida Legislature.

 

It is time to address the larger problem of use of cell phones while driving, not just texting.  Not only is the current Florida texting law weak, it is difficult to enforce.  Laws prohibiting all motor vehicle drivers from using hand-held electronic communication devices while driving can be more effectively enforced. 

 

We know that stronger laws will reduce Florida’s roadway fatalities.  Of the 15 states and the District of Columbia that have enacted “hands-free” laws, 13 saw an average 17.5% decrease in traffic fatalities within two years after passing and enforcing their new laws.  Applying these findings to Florida, if HR 45/SB 76 were enacted an estimated 545 lives could be saved each year.

 

In each of the past six years, the Florida 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.  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.

 

We urge the Committee to support SB 76 and work to ensure that it becomes law this year.

 

Thank you for your support. 

 

Darla Letourneau

on behalf of BikeWalkLee

  

Related Links:

 

BWL Blog 1/4/19: BikeWalkLee urges Lee County Legislative Delegation to strengthen distracted driving laws--support HB 45/SB

 
FL DNT TXTNDRV Coalition 1/28/19 handout re: SB 76 and HB 107:
 
Senate Bill #76

Florida Senate Bill Tracking for SB 76

The danger of distraction

BikeWalkLee and News-Press are focusing on the dangers of distracted driving, as the Florida Legislature is in session and considering legislation to address this epidemic.  Below are the recent commentaries and articles on this topic.  Stay tuned for more...and add your voices to the conversation.

1/6/18 News-Press Commentary by BWL's Darla Letourneau: As fatalities surge, no-texting law is No. 1 priority  

1/4/18 BWL Blog: BWL urges Lee Legislative Delegation to strengthen FL laws re: distracted driving

1/19/18 News-Press commentary by Jay Anderson (SAJD) and Lynn Grant: My daughter suffers because of distracted driver

BWL Column: Being distracted could result in serious injuries
The News-Press, 1/18/2018

by Ken Gooderham

What are you doing right now – besides reading this?

Are you walking down the sidewalk? Riding your bike around the neighborhood? Driving your vehicle on our area’s overwrought roadways (please say no!)?

None of the above? Good… not that this article should demand your undivided attention, but that doing any other thing – particularly reading – while propelling yourself forward is rarely a great idea.

Most of us would agree that reading the newspaper while driving – or biking or walking – is not smart. So why do so many of us think that texting while driving is OK?

It’s not. It’s dangerous, to you and everyone around you.

pinterest.com

Don’t misunderstand, it’s also dangerous to text while biking or even while walking. It’s just particularly hazardous to be looking at a smartphone screen rather than where you are going when operating a moving two-ton (or more) vehicle.

Let’s face it: Multi-tasking is a myth. Most people cannot (and should not) do more than one thing at a time if they hope to do it well. That’s particularly true for driving, a skill (if you think back to your driver’s ed days) that takes multiple nearly instantaneous decisions to do even moderately well.

However, that’s also true to some degree for cycling and even walking. Riding a bike and using your phone means you’re not paying attention to where you are going nor to what’s going on around you – and you don’t have both hands on the handlebars either. Even walking while texting puts you at risk; looking at the phone instead of looking where you are going is how people walk into telephone poles, walk off piers, walk into other people, walk into traffic or whatever other YouTube-style moment you can think of. (It’s not always funny. Just a few weeks ago, an 11-year-old was hit and killed by a train in Haines City because her headphones blocked out the warning whistles and she was too engrossed in her phone to look up and see the approaching train.)

Doing anything while distracted is risky. Driving (or biking or walking) while distracted is dangerous.

Texting is singled out because it offers the hat trick of distraction, combining visual (looking where you are going), manual (not having your hands on the wheel) and cognitive (not thinking about what you are doing only) distractions.

Traffic experts say that sending or reading a text (which they say takes five seconds) while driving 55 mph means you will travel the length of a football field blind. That’s a lot of yards for something to go wrong… and there are plenty of statistics to show just how wrong it can and does go every year.

Many of you get that. Looking over the Facebook comments received by the News-Press after a BikeWalkLee op-ed was published in support of a proposed law to make texting while driving a primary offense in Florida, and the feeling was strong that such a law is needed – mixed with incredulity that it wasn’t already on the books. (There was also a significant tangent offered on the driving skill-sets of our snowbird drivers, another familiar theme.)

Does knowing that texting behind the wheel is bad stop them from doing it themselves? AAA says no, that 84% of drivers say texting while driving is dangerous but 36% of them do it anyway.

Distractions comes in more modes than just texting. Adjusting the radio (or whatever entertainment mode your vehicle has), disciplining your kids, eating or drinking, taking care of some personal hygiene issues – all this and more can take your attention away from driving your vehicle. If you’re on a bike or on foot, being distracted from your surroundings and your propulsion is also risky – even more so in the vicinity of a distracted driver, an all too common event.

Want to stay safe? Don’t drive (or bike or walk) while distracted. If someone around you is dangerously distracted, either ask them to pay attention to the task at hand or get far, far away from them.

Even though it should take only common sense to stop this instead of a law, laws have to step in when common sense is not so common. So support the effort to make texting while driving a primary offense, meaning someone can be stopped and ticketed if someone in law enforcement sees a driver texting in motion. Right now, it’s a secondary law, meaning a ticket can only be issued when an officer has another reason to pull someone over… say, because they just hit a cyclist or walker while texting.

A boost for Bonita and Estero

Thanks to a strong showing of community support and some local officials taking their case to Tallahassee, the Bonita-Estero Trail segment has been restored to the state’s Greenways and Trails map. That’s the first step to make the trail – which runs along U.S. 41 and Business 41 – a reality somewhere down the road.

The move not only puts this trail back on the map (and eligible for state funding), it helps boost some badly needed bike/ped infrastructure in the southern part of the county while connecting it to the Collier segment of the trail.

Thanks to Bonita Deputy Mayor Peter O’Flinn, Estero Councilmember Nick Batos and Lee MPO director Don Scott for making the case in Tallahassee, and to all the residents who wrote 880 letters in support of this effort.

Ready to ride or run?

Run? This Saturday, try a 5K run/walk as part of the weekend Tour de Cape at Cape Harbour (tourdecape.net). There’s a full schedule on Jan. 27, with 5Ks at the Calusa Nature Center in Fort Myers, the Civil Air Patrol in Naples and Hancock Elementary School in Cape Coral – plus a half-marathon and 5K at the Hands Across the Harbor in Punta Gorda. Details at ftmyerstrackclub.com, gcrunner.org, 3dracinginc.com and handsacrosstheharbor.com, respectively.

Ride? Choices abound, starting with the venerable Tour de Cape on Sunday with rides of 15, 30, 60 and 100 miles (tourdecape.net). Critical Mass rides upcoming include the Cape night ride on Jan. 26 and the Saturday Slow Roll in Fort Myers Jan. 27 (meetup.com/Biking-SWFL/events/). Jan. 27 also brings Hands Across The Harbor in Punta Gorda, with rides of 13.1, 20 or 30 miles (handsacrosstheharbor.com).

Both? Nothing nearby in the near term, check out trifind.com or active.com for events in the state.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RIDE:

Have a favorite route you like to bike, or a unique walk you’d like to share with others? Tell us about it at info@bikewalklee.org, and maybe we can feature it in an upcoming column.

# # #

Ken Gooderham writes this on behalf of BikeWalkLee, a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County — streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Information, statistics and background online at www.BikeWalkLee.org. 

BWL urges Lee Legislative Delegation to strengthen FL laws re: distracted driving

As the 2018 Florida Legislative session begins on January 9th, BikeWalkLee sent a letter to the Lee Legislative Delegation urging them to support legislation to strengthen laws against distracted driving, including passage this year of a bill (HB 33) to make texting while driving a primary offense. Add your voices by contacting members of the delegation.  

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

Distracted driving, walking and biking must stop

Florida Weekly 'Outdoors' column, 4/12/17
danMOSER
bikepedmoser@gmail.com

I’m pretty sure you’ll agree from what we all observe - and maybe even engage in - on a regular and alarming basis is that way too many of us require distraction from almost any singular task in order to go about our lives.

From my perspective it’s most obvious when we’re on the move. Whether it be behind the wheel, on our bikes or on foot, we evidently feel the need to entertain ourselves or get other things done while undertaking what we must perceive as activities too mundane on which to focus. And from what it appears, this phenomenon is becoming more pervasive as potential technological distractions continue to be created.

The consequences of multitasking when operating a piece of machinery capable of easily killing or injuring oneself and others is obvious and played out over and over on our roads and highways.

Based on statistics, it’s especially problematic in Southwest Florida, where Lee County’s traffic fatalities total over 100 each year, a rate that’s off the charts in terms of other places with similar population numbers and demographics.

Drivers who have the potential to kill or maim by merely averting attention from operating vehicles for only a few seconds has become one of the primary contributors to crashes — even when considering distracted driving is woefully under-documented by law enforcement or admitted to by drivers involved in crashes.

Deliberately driving while distracted is irresponsible.

Maybe the chance that the armored cocoon of cars and trucks will provide enough protection in a crash to stave off death or serious injury makes us feel it’s worth the risk.

That’s not the case for vulnerable road users involved in a collision with a motor vehicle. The fact that pedestrians have a 50 percent chance of being killed by a car operating at 30 mph and only a 15 percent chance of surviving a hit at 40 mph makes one wonder why so many of us who are walking, running and on bikes feel it’s OK to be distracted, too.

Whether in a car, on a bike or on foot, we should assume others are distracted and keep a keen eye out.

Lee County is officially known as the most dangerous place in the U.S. to be a pedestrian (see smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design) so that should motivate anyone who uses our roads and highways to be more cautious.

But electronic devices appear to be as prevalent among vulnerable road users as they are for drivers - so our status as having the most dangerous pedestrian environment in the country will likely continue. And our overall traffic crash numbers probably won’t decline, either.

Those involved in injury prevention - as am I - often feel we’re beating our heads against a wall. Our state elected officials refuse to enact laws that are proven to curb the use of electronic devices when one is behind the wheel. Florida has the weakest law in the country when it comes to reducing driving distractions, something that likely won’t change this session.

Advocacy update

At last week’s city council meeting the city of Cape Coral was formally presented with an award from Florida Bicycle Association for being named the state’s 2016 Bike Friendly Community of the Year. Here’s what Becky Afonso, FBA’s executive director, had to say afterward: “I enjoyed meeting Carolyn (Conant) and Mike (Swanson) of Cape Coral Bike-Ped yesterday for the award presentation. We talked a little bit after the presentation and it’s encouraging to know that such dedicated people are behind the Cape Coral bike-friendly movement. They couldn’t say enough about the mayor and the city, and the city and the mayor couldn’t say enough about their volunteer organization during the council meeting. This morning I rode a little of the yacht club route and the Cape Coral chamber of commerce route. Both were well marked and easy to navigate. I like that anyone can come to this town and enjoy an hour or so experiencing the community by bike.”

To stay abreast of how the Cape moves forward and other Complete Streets matters, be sure to regularly visit BikeWalkLee’s blog (bikewalklee.blogspot.com). ¦ 

- Dan Moser is a long-time bicycle/pedestrian advocate and traffic safety professional who cycles, runs and walks regularly for transportation, recreation and fitness. Contact him at bikepedmoser@gmail.com and 334-6417. 

BWL urges Lee Legislative Delegation to support roadway safety legislation

As a follow-up to today's NDN/NP editorial about the need for renewed emphasis on roadway safety, BikeWalkLee sent a letter to the Lee Legislative Delegation urging them to support legislation to strengthen laws against distracted driving (HB 47) and to pass the Passidomo bike safety bill (SB 408).  Add your voices by contacting members of the delegation.

April 7, 2017

Members of the Lee Legislative Delegation:

Four weeks into the 2017 legislative session, no action has been taken on pending bills (HB 47 and SB 408) aimed at addressing distracted driving and safety for vulnerable road users (including cyclists and pedestrians). We urge you to provide leadership and support for ensuring this legislative session doesn't end without legislative action to improve the safety of all road users in Florida--especially pedestrians and cyclists.

In light of Florida's continuing ranking as the most dangerous state in the country for pedestrians and this year's ranking of Lee County's as the most dangerous metro area in the country for pedestrians, our legislative delegation should be leading the charge.

Naples Daily News (4/6/17) editorial (published today in News-Press), "Toughen laws to help stop distracted driving", is a timely reminder of the need for legislative action.

As stated in our Jan. 18th letter* (which we presented to you at the January Delegation hearing) BikeWalkLee's top priority is for stronger laws and enforcement tools to make Florida roadways safer for all road users, esp. pedestrians and cyclists. One of the reasons Florida has made so little progress is its lax driver safety laws.

We wholeheartedly support the NDN editorial's call for enactment of two legislative initiatives: stronger legislation against distracted driving (including texting while driving) and urge you to champion and support bills that will, at a minimum, make texting while driving a primary offense (HB 74), and passage of the Passidomo bike safety bill (SB 408).

Thank you for your support.

Darla Letourneau
BikeWalkLee

Links:

• NDN 4/6/17 editorial

• BWL's 1/18/17 Letter to Lee Legislative Delegation