Last November, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood started making noises about a “hardware” solution to the issue of distracted driving as it relates to wireless devices.  Secretary LaHood was advocating ‘disabling’ wireless devices in moving vehicles.

Now in March, LaHood is leaning more toward NHTSA a study before making any ‘harsh decisions as it relates to wireless devices.  This study would look to determine if devices cause "cognitive distractions" to drivers and contributes to accidents and deaths.

I applaud Secretary LaHood taking the step to perform a study and base any regulatory decisions on hard numbers rather than ‘gut feel’.  But I am concerned that LaHood and the Department of Transportation are focusing too much on consumer devices rather than other causes of distracted drivers.  Some that I can think of off the top of my head are:

• Pets
• Food
• Beverages
• Shaving
• Applying makeup
• Children

I would advocate a simple solution to the problem… Move toward a nationwide standard to “double the points and double the fine” for any and all distracted drivers during moving violations.  This would similar to the recent campaigns focusing not just on the fact that drunk driving is a bad decision, but a REALLY bad financial decision.

For those using wireless devices during a moving violation, the ‘detection method’ is to simply use the existing lawful intercept laws to utilize the voice, SMS or data records associated with a suspect’s wireless device.

Are you ready to have hardware in your phone or in your car to prevent the usage of wireless device while it is moving?

Post your comments below or email (John.Myers@BlueBuffaloGroup.com) / twitter (@BlueBuffaloGrp) me directly.