The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“DRIVE SAFER SUNDAY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2805 on Nov. 18, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DRIVE SAFER SUNDAY
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speech of
HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE
of texas
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res 841, which will designate November 29, 2009, as ``Drive Safer Sunday''. I strongly support the passage of this resolution because at some point in time, all of our lives have been or will be in the hands of a driver. Motor vehicle travel is the primary means of transportation for most of us here in the United States. Advocating safer driving methods will help save the lives of countless mothers, daughters, fathers and sons. Losing the people we love due to another drivers' lack of attention, carelessness or belligerent intoxication while driving is inexcusable.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, in 2005, Americans now spend more than 100 hours a year commuting to work. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, estimates that in 2009, 37,313 people, an average of more than 100 drivers a day, were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Throughout the first half of this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, has reported over 16,000 deaths. Throughout 2008 in Houston, my home district, the 18th District of Texas, there were an estimated 74 fatalities according to the Texas Department of Transportation, TxDOT.
Between driving to work, taking our kids to school, running to the grocery store and various other errands; for many of us, our highways and byways become a home away from home. Unfortunately, distracted drivers have endangered us all with careless antics. `Distracted driving' includes anything that takes your eyes, hands, or mind away from driving, including food and beverages, traffic accidents, adjusting the radio, children, pets, objects moving in the vehicle, talking or texting on a cell phone, smoking, putting on on makeup, shaving, and reading.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, conducted a study on driver distraction with respect to both behavioral and vehicle safety countermeasures in an effort to understand and mitigate crashes associated with distracted driving. In September of this year, the Department of Transportation, DOT, Secretary Ray LaHood announced research findings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, that showed nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. Distracted driving was reported to have been involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008, according to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS. The age group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age group, 16 percent of all under-20 drivers in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving. Crashes in which the critical reason for the crash was attributed to the driver, approximately 18 percent involved distraction, according to the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, NMVCCS.
While traveling on our roads and highways, we all need to drive safer to reduce deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents. Driver behavior can be effectively changed through education and awareness. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest highway traffic day of the year and would be appropriate to be designated as ``Drive Safer Sunday.''
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