Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

As Illinois accident and injury attorneys, we spend a considerable amount of time reading and writing about the risks of distracted driving. Having practiced personal injury law for over twenty years, we have sadly represented numerous victims of distracted drivers. We were encouraged by the recent news out of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding Secretary Ray LaHood's announcement of the first federally proposed guidelines encouraging automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risk for in-vehicle electronic devices.

According to a DOT press release, the guidelines would "apply to communications, entertainment, information gathering and navigation devices or functions that are not required to safely operate the vehicle." The guidelines would also establish "specific recommended criteria for electronic devices installed in vehicles at the time they are manufactured that require visual or manual operation by drivers."

While this is only Phase I of the proposed guidelines, the DOT states that "manufacturers can use [the criteria] to ensure the systems or devices they provide in their vehicles are less likely to distract the driver with tasks not directly relevant to safely operating the vehicle, or cause undue distraction by engaging the driver’s eyes or hands for more than a very limited duration while driving." The proposed Phase I distraction guidelines include recommendations to:

Reduce complexity and task length required by the device; Limit device operation to one hand only (leaving the other hand to remain on the steering wheel to control the vehicle); Limit individual off-road glances required for device operation to no more than two seconds in duration; Limit unnecessary visual information in the driver’s field of view; Limit the amount of manual inputs required for device operation.

The proposed guidelines also recommend manufacturers design programs to disable other in-vehicle electronic devices while drivers are operating vehicles, such as:

Visual-manual text messaging; Visual-manual internet browsing; Visual-manual social media browsing; Visual-manual navigation system destination entry by address; Visual-manual 10-digit phone dialing; Displaying to the driver more than 30 characters of text unrelated to the driving task.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the agency responsible for issuing the guidelines, is considering Phase II guidelines to address devices or systems not built into vehicles, such as navigation systems, smart phones, electronic tablets and pads, and other mobile communications devices. Phase III may address "voice-activated controls."