OSPE - The Voice - Spring 2014 - (Page 28)

ENGINEERING INTELLIGENCE DISTRACTED DRIVERS DEADLIER THAN DRUNK DRIVERS? families forever shattered. South of the border, the rules are even stricter. An American court recently ruled that individuals can be held legally responsible if they send a text messages to someone whom they know is driving, if there is a subsequent car accident. Clearly the authorities are aware of the seriousness of the problem, but public perception still lags behind. So opens a sobering new mini-documentary film about the CAN NEW TECHNOLOGY SAVE LIVES? catastrophic accidents and personal tragedies caused by Some companies are rising to the challenge to help prevent these types of accidents. A new smart-phone app called tXtBlocker, for example, uses GPS and other technologies to monitor a phone's location, acceleration and velocity. This tracking allows users (or, in the case of teenage drivers, parents) to automatically turn a phone off when it is found to be travelling over a certain speed. Another new technology is available from The Personal. IntelAuto is a user-based insurance program that incorporates a telematic device in the vehicle to monitor the driver's habits and offer a discount based on good driving. Because the discount is based, among other factors, upon avoiding sudden braking and acceleration, the driver is encouraged to pay strict attention when driving in order to maintain total control at all times. While technology can offer a means and incentive to reduce accidents caused by distracted drivers, the only real solution is ensuring drivers simply put down their phones and keep their eyes on the road at all times. As one current public service campaign emphasizes: "It can wait." "I had my brother in my hand. All of a sudden my hand was empty." The stunned heartbreak lingers in the girl's voice and in her eyes many months after a driver, busy reading a text, crashed into her brother, as the pair were crossing the street, leaving the boy paralyzed and the lives of two drivers distracted by talking or texting on cell phones. Distracted drivers have become the leading cause of collisions - and casualties - now surpassing even impaired drivers. Cell phone use is widely cited as the main distracter. Consider this: reading a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. When traveling at 90 km/h, that's the equivalent of driving the length of a football field blindfolded. The results can be horrific. TEXTERS 23 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO CRASH According to the Canadian Auto Association, texting drivers are 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision, while drivers simply talking on a cell phone are four times more likely to crash. This year, over a quarter of all fatalities on Ontario highways were caused by "driver inattentiveness." While drivers can be distracted by kids horsing around in the back seat, eating a sandwich or fiddling with a GPS or car stereo, the majority of cases are the result of the driver texting or talking on the phone. CRASH TEXT DUMMIES Using a hand-held cell phone while behind the wheel is illegal in all provinces across Canada. In Ontario, using a cell phone or text-enabled device while driving can result in a fine of $225 under the Highway Traffic Act. Other forms of distracted driving can bring Careless Driving charges, with fines up to $2,000, a licence suspension of up to two years and even jail time. Despite these penalties, one in three Canadian drivers continues to engage in these life-threatening practices. Police can charge a driver for using a cell phone or with careless driving or even criminal negligence causing death, if the driver is involved in a fatal accident. 2 8 TheVoice Spring 2014 The Personal Insurance Company is OSPE's official provider of home and auto coverage. To learn more about the products and services offered by The Personal, including additional discounts for OSPE members, visit ospe.on.ca/engineersfirst or intelauto.ca. http://ospe.on.ca/engineersfirst http://www.intelauto.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - Spring 2014

OSPE - The Voice - Spring 2014
Contents
Viewpoint
OSPE is Listening
Newsbytes
Profile: Robert A. Goodings, P.Eng.
National Engineering Month
Engineers Connect at OSPE Events
Advocacy for Our Profession
Issues that Matter
Decades of Advocacy
From Classroom to Career
Talking Transit
PAN Profile
Strength in Numbers
Learning from Elliot Lake
Energy Planning
Across the Pond and Back
Intellectual Property
OSPE Employer Compensation Survey
Deadlier than Drunk Drivers?
Resources within Reach
Professional Development
OSPE Launches Corporate Program

OSPE - The Voice - Spring 2014