News conference to unveil plan to curb truck & bus driver talking & texting

MEDIA ALERT: Safety advocates to announce sweeping nationwide proposal to 
address U.S. truck and bus driver talking, texting and other distractions 
WHAT:            Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (_www.saferoads.org_ 
(http://www.saferoads.org/) ) will hold a news conference on Thursday to 
announce the details of the most sweeping proposal to date to address cell 
phone talking, texting, and other distractions experienced by truck, bus and 
large passenger van operators throughout the United States. 
The news conference will be conducted via telephone conference call.  The 
access information is as follows: 
U.S. Toll Free Access Number: 877-366-0711 
Canadian Toll Free Access Number: 866-627-1651  
Then enter participant code: 58436720 followed by the # sign 
WHEN:           Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 11:30 am ET 
WHO:              -- Jacqueline Gillan, Vice President, Advocates for 
Highway and Auto Safety 
-- Jerry Donaldson, Senior Research Director, Advocates for Highway and 
Auto Safety 
-- Henry Jasny, General Counsel, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety 
-- Elissa and Jamie Schee (Ocala, Florida), whose daughter Frances “Margay�??
 Schee, age 13, was killed September, 23, 2008, when a tractor trailer 
rammed into the back of a stopped school bus with lights flashing, resulting in 
the vehicles catching fire.  Margay died in the fire. The truck driver’s 
cell phone use was a contributing factor in the fatal crash. 
WHY:              Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is a national 
leader on commercial motor vehicle safety issues and is alarmed by the growing 
use of electronic devices by motor vehicle operators. 
FACT: About 5,000 people are killed and 100,000 are injured annually in 
crashes with large trucks.  Trucks are only 3% of registered vehicles, but are 
involved in 12% of all traffic fatalities. 
FACT: Numerous studies have found that the crash risk for drivers using 
cell phones is substantially increased compared to drivers not using cell 
phones. For example – 
A recent Virginia Tech study, the first to investigate the effects on crash 
risk of reading and sending text messages, found that texting increased the 
risk of a safety-critical driving event for truck drivers by 23.2 times. 
An observational study in 2006 found that drivers using cell phones failed 
to stop at stop signs 10 times more often than drivers not observed using 
cell phones. 
FACT: 25 percent of all police-reported crashes may involve distracted 
driving according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 
estimate. (June 2006). 
FACT: At any given moment, 1 of 10 motorists are using cell phones while 
driving. (NHTSA, June 2008)  Eight of 10 motorists admit to talking on a cell 
phone while driving and nearly half claim that they were hit or nearly hit 
by someone talking on cell phone. (Nationwide Insurance, August 2009). 
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, health, 
law enforcement and 
safety groups and insurance companies and agents working together to make 
America’s roads safer. 
AN ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT, including the petition, news release and fact 
sheets, will be available at _www.saferoads.org_ (http://www.saferoads.org/) . 
MEDIA CONTACTS: Bill Bronrott, 202-270-4415 and Cathy Barzey, 202-408-1711