DOT Driver Distraction Guidelines

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Photo courtesy of USDOT

A little over a month ago the DOT released its draft guidelines for In-Vehicle Electronic Devices. The guidelines, which are voluntary for now, include several key recommendations:

1. Prohibit certain tasks while driving, including displaying images or video not related to driving; displaying automatically scrolling text; requiring manual text entry of more than six button or key presses during a single task; or requiring reading more than 30 characters of text (not counting punctuation marks).

2. Design devices so that tasks can be completed by the driver while driving with glances away from the roadway of 2 seconds or less and a cumulative time spent glancing away from the roadway of 12 seconds or less.

3. Design devices so that functions designed to be performed by the driver through visual-manual means should require no more than one of the driver’s hands to operate.

4. Locate devices as close as practicable to the driver’s forward line of sight and include a specific recommendation for the maximum downward viewing angle to the geometric center of each display.

Is this enough to keep us safe on the roads? Given that a key problem with in-vehicle devices is cognitive distaction, not visual distraction, these guidelines might not go far enough. Personally, I've given up many in-vehicle distractions (like talking on my cell phone--even hands free), regardless of what the law tells me I can or can't do.

Tell the DOT what you think of their proposed rules by following the instructions here.  

This Week on Foot

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This week has been busy on the legislative front, as the House to introduce three-month highway bill extension and SCAG Transportation Committee Meets to Discuss Regional Plan One Last Time. Promoting all transportation modes is an important part of that plan, and we need all the help with that we can get here in LA, where It’s Not Easy Being Green: Sunset Triangle Plaza Edition. Maybe we should all go listen when Matt Tomasulo Speaks On Guerrilla Urbanism At City Share March 28? (Too bad it's not in LA).

Elsewhere in the country, San Rafael police say pedestrian at fault for crash that killed him , 'Darlington is not pedestrian friendly', and Montgomery continues "pedestrian removal" in Wheaton. But it's not all bad news: Seminole County project seeks pedestrian safety and in Virginia there are New pedestrian crosswalk signs to be installed. In the Northwest Residents Question Parking, Pedestrian Access at Northgate Light Rail Station, and Bowmanville seniors demand pedestrian crosswalk to address safety in their neighborhood. Sadly, it's too late for thePedestrian Expert Killed Crossing St. Louis Street A Decade Ago, but we can remember her and work to promote the cause she believed in.

On a lighter note, basketball fans can try Deciding the Sweet Sixteen by Walk Score. But what if it's fuel, not playoffs, that you're thinking about this month? Concerned about gas prices? Demand Complete Streets  And while you're thinking about that, maybe you can decide: Does Ticketing Drivers Make Pedestrians Safer?

If that's too much of a conundrum for you, take heart--at least this week we've learned Why People in Cities Walk Fast. Oh, the places we go (within walking distance)...

Crosswalks and Crashes: What we DO know

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Adam Choit's short film about his attempts to get a crosswalk on Sunset Boulevard, and the LA DOT's subsequent response, have reminded us once again how easy it is for traffic engineers, policymakers, and others to blithely cite "studies" proving how dangerous marked crosswalks are without technically, to use a scientific phrase, "having the slightest clue what they are talking about."

Happily, a recent publication from the Oregon DOT includes a nice summary--with citations--of the latest research on crosswalks, pedestrian crashes, and what the research really shows:

• Research with data from over 1000 marked crosswalks and 1000 unmarked crosswalks concluded that no meaningful differences in crash risk exists between marked and unmarked crosswalks (Zeeger et al. 2005)
• Another study at six crossings of varying lane width and speed limits between 25 and 30 mph found that marked crosswalks improved driver yielding rates (Mitman et al. 2008)
• Longer crossing distances and crossings with more lanes can be more dangerous than narrower crossings (Baltes and Chu 2002; Petritsch et al. 2005; Zeeger et al. 2005; Zeeger et al. 2006; Harwood et al. 2008)
• Right-turn only lanes are positively associated with an increase in crash rates (Petritsch et al. 2005; Schneider et al. 2010)
• Crash rates increase with higher speed limits at uncontrolled crossings (Zeeger et al. 2006
• Sidewalks tend to decrease crash rates (McMahon et al. 1999; Berhanu 2004)
• Urban areas have higher crash rates than rural areas.(Zeeger et al. 2006)
• Transit stops, neighborhoods with median annual income of less than $25,000, and proximity to alcohol sales establishments tend to be positively associated with crash rates (Harwood et al. 2008)
• Higher crash rates occur around malls, schools and parks (Wedagama et al. 2006; Clifton and Kreamer-Fults 2007)

Register now for Pedestrians Count 2012

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May 3 -4
Pedestrians Count 2012
California WALKS is pleased to announce LA's second pedestrian count. Pedestrians Count! 2012 will be held in Los Angeles on May 3rd and 4th, 2012. The seminar promotes pedestrian safety, transit access, healhty environments and sustainable communities coordinating with cutting edge research. It also explores latest best practices in pedestrian data collection and analysis with strategic community advocacy. Professionals, academics and community leaders will share their current and most promising work.
More info here.

LA DOT: Your Ignorance is Showing

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Thanks to Curbed LA and Erik Griswold for bringing this awesome advocacy effort to my attention. Filmmaker Adam Choit put together this short segment in hopes that it would convince the powers-that-be of the real need for a marked crosswalk along Sunset Boulevard between Poinsetta Pl and Gardner St where there are no marked crosswalks or other pedestrian treatments along 1300 feet of a seven-lane road.

When asked how this could be, LA DOT's response was "Observations of pedestrian behavior and safety studies in cities throughout the world have produced evidence which suggests that pedestrians are cautious when crossing at locations where crosswalks are not painted."

(Sound of me banging head on table in frustration).

Actually, safety studies have produced any amount of evidence to the contrary, including this study released just a few weeks ago. There have been a whole slew of studies showing how dangerous it is for pedestrians to try to race across wide, high-speed roads without anything but a prayer to protect them. Come LA DOT. You can do better than this.