Amended in Assembly April 16, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 52

Introduced by Assembly Member Frazier

March 26, 2015

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 52—Relative to distracted driving.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 52, as amended, Frazier. Distracted Driving Awareness begin delete Month end delete begin insert Month. end insert

This measure would proclaim April 2015 as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and call for awareness of the distracted driving problem and support for programs and policies to reduce the incidence of distracted driving.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, A 2013 statewide traffic safety survey conducted
by the California Office of Traffic begin delete Safety, end delete begin insert Safety end insert reported that
more than 36 percent of Californians surveyed thought texting or
talking on a cell phone while driving posed the biggest safety
problem on California roadways; and

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WHEREAS, Distracted driving is defined as any activity that
could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of
driving; and

end insert begin insert

WHEREAS, Distracted driving takes three primary forms:

(a) Visual distraction: tasks that require the driver to look away
from the roadway to visually obtain information.

(b) Manual distraction: tasks that require the driver to take a
hand off the steering wheel and manipulate a device.

(c) Cognitive distraction: tasks that are defined as the mental
workload associated with a task that involves thinking about
something other than the task of driving; and

end insert

WHEREAS, In 2013, nearly 70 percent of the California drivers
surveyed said they had been hit or nearly hit by a driver who was
talking or texting on a cell phone; and

WHEREAS, In 2013, 45 percent of the drivers surveyed said
they have made a driving mistake while talking on a cell phone;
and

WHEREAS, In 2013, nearly 48 percent of the drivers surveyed
said that texting while driving is the most serious distraction for
drivers; and

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WHEREAS, A 2012 statewide observational survey of cell
phone use by California drivers, showed that 7.4 percent of drivers
were using cell phones at any given time during daylight hours;
and

end delete

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WHEREAS, A 2012 nationwide survey conducted by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that, in any given
daylight moment across the United States, of the 212 million
licensed drivers, about 600,000 are using cell phones or
manipulating electronic devices while driving; and

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WHEREAS, In 2012, 3,328 people were killed and 421,000
were injured in distraction-affected crashes; and

WHEREAS, To read or type the average text takes 4.6 seconds.
Just three seconds of texting while driving at 65 mph is equal to
driving 100 yards, equal to the length of a football field,
blindfolded; and

WHEREAS, Engaging in visual-manual subtasks, such as
reaching for a phone, dialing, and texting, associated with the use
of handheld phones and other portable devices increased the risk
of getting into a crash by three times; and

WHEREAS, Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse
than driving while not distracted; and

WHEREAS, According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, only about 1 out of 5 young drivers think that
texting makes no difference to their driving performance.
Sixty-eight percent of young drivers 18 to 20 years of age are
willing to answer incoming phone calls on some, most, or all
driving trips; and

WHEREAS, Parents who engage in distracting behaviors while
driving more frequently have teens who do the same. According
to a 2012 teen driver distraction study conducted jointly by the
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and
Toyota, teens send or read text messages once a trip 26 times more
often than their parents think they do; now, begin delete therefore end delete begin insert therefore, end insert
be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims April 2015 as
Distracted Driving Awareness Month and calls upon residents,
government agencies, business leaders, hospitals, schools, and
public and private institutions within the state to promote awareness
of the distracted driving problem and to support programs and
policies to reduce the incidence of distracted driving in California
and nationwide; and be begin delete if further. end delete begin insert it further end insert

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.