California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 140

Introduced by Assembly Member Obernolte

February 18, 2016

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 140—Relative to Don’t Text and Drive Day.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 140, as introduced, Obernolte. Don’t Text and Drive Day.

This measure would proclaim April 27, 2016, as Don’t Text and Drive Day, and would call upon individuals, government agencies, and schools, among others, to promote awareness of the problem of texting and driving and to support programs and policies that reduce the incidence of texting while driving in California and nationwide.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Texting while driving poses a significant risk to
drivers and those around them; and

WHEREAS, In 2008, the Legislature passed Senate Bill No.
28, which prohibits drivers from operating a motor vehicle while
using a wireless device to send text messages; and

WHEREAS, The National Safety Council estimates that over
340,000, or 6 percent, of all car crashes in 2013 involved text
messaging; and

WHEREAS, According to the Virginia Tech Transportation
Institute, texting while driving is six times more likely to result in
an accident than driving while intoxicated; and

WHEREAS, In a 2011 study by the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 31.2 percent of United States drivers 18
to 64, inclusive, years of age reported that they had read or sent
text or email messages while driving at least once in the past 30
days; and

WHEREAS, Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes
from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent, at 55
miles per hour, of driving the length of an entire football field,
blind; and

WHEREAS, In response to a 2013 California Office of Traffic
Safety survey, 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

WHEREAS, Nearly 70 percent of 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, Nearly 48 percent of Californians surveyed said
that texting while driving is the most serious distraction for drivers;
and

WHEREAS, According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse
than driving while not distracted; and

WHEREAS, As of December 2013, 153.3 billion text messages
were sent in the United States every month, according to CTIA -
The Wireless Association; and

WHEREAS, As reported in a 2012 National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration survey, at any given daylight moment across
America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or
manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has
held steady since 2010; and

WHEREAS, According to a University of Michigan
Transportation Research Institute study, about 25 percent of
teenagers respond to a text message once or more every time they
drive, and additionally, 20 percent of teenagers and 10 percent of
parents admitted to having an extended multimessage texting
conversation while driving. Furthermore, the study reported that
parents who more frequently engaged in distracted driving
behaviors had teenagers who engaged in distracted driving
behaviors more frequently than other young drivers; now, therefore,
be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims April 27, 2016,
as Don’t Text and Drive Day, and calls upon individuals,
government agencies, business leaders, hospitals, schools, and
public and private institutions within the state to promote awareness
of the problem of texting and driving and to support programs and
policies that reduce the incidence of texting while driving in
California and nationwide; and be it further

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