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LaHood Reaffirms Commitment to Combat Distracted Driving

At an event marking the one-year anniversary of FocusDriven, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for victims of distracted driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to putting an end to distracted driving.

Joined by family members of distracted driving victims, including FocusDriven President Jennifer Smith, and representatives from Safeway and the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS), LaHood unveiled a number of new public education initiatives and discussed the important leadership role businesses play in promoting safe driving behavior.

"Distracted driving is a deadly epidemic and when it comes to road safety, we will not take a backseat to anyone," said LaHood. "That's why distracted driving will continue to be a major part of DOT's robust safety agenda. Together with advocates like FocusDriven and NETS, and employers like Safeway, we can put an end to this deadly behavior and save lives."

Shannon Campagna, Vice President of Federal Government Relations for Safeway grocery stores, spoke about the company's decision to institute an anti-distracted driving policy for all Safeway truck drivers. The policy prohibits Safeway's 1,525 truck drivers from talking or texting on cell phones, or from using hands-free devices while driving.

"The safety of our employees, customers and residents in the communities where we operate is and always has been of the utmost importance to Safeway," said Campagna. "This policy not only helps keep our employees and customers safe, but we believe it is a good business practice as it ensures that our products arrive safely and on-time. Implementation of policies limiting use of phones and mobile devices by more private companies will help minimize distractions for drivers and keep Americans on the road safe and healthy."

Bill Windsor, Chairman of the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, also announced the results of their 2010 Drive Safely Work Week campaign. The campaign, which promoted anti-distracted driving employer policies, reached a record-breaking 5,000 unique public and private organizations representing more than 20 million U.S. employees. Of the 4,690 unique organizations that downloaded the NETS electronic tool kit, 88 percent currently have or expect to have a cell phone policy in place within the next 12 months.

"Employers can make a real difference in keeping their associates safe both on and off the job by educating them about the dangers of distracted driving and adopting policies to prevent it," said Windsor.

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