A growing momentum is now taking hold that is comparing driving while distracted (DWD) to driving under the influence (DUI). Over 200 pieces of legislation have now been offered nation wide to prohibit such activities.
“People are starting to see it like drunk driving, and that’s the comparison we need to continue to make,” said Steve Farley, an Arizona state representative. The next step will be a determination whether State workers’ compensation law will consider the activity outside the course of employment or mandated by statute as exclusion from coverage.
The NY Times has reports that 22% of all drivers talk of their phone while driving and DWD accounts for 2,600 deaths per year and 570,000 injuries.
