CTIA–The Wireless Association Statement on the Distracted Driving Summit Closing Remarks

WASHINGTON--Today, CTIA-The Wireless Association® President and CEO Steve Largent issued the following statement in response to the closing remarks by the White House and Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on distracted driving:

“The wireless industry remains committed to educating all drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. We support state and local legislation that would ban texting for all drivers and place wireless use restrictions on teens and novice drivers. We agree with Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's recommendation that distracted driving legislation should be developed and enforced by state and local governments. While state and local legislation is a part of the solution, education is key to trying to end distracted driving. We also agree with Secretary LaHood that personal responsibility is important and every single person needs to be aware about the serious dangers and possible consequences of texting and driving.

“Since we unveiled our public service announcement (PSA) on Tuesday, September 29th with the National Safety Council, we have received several inquiries from TV stations that have requested to run our PSA and we hope to receive many more. Focused on teens, the PSA tells them to simply remember, ‘On the Road, Off the Phone.’

“We also strongly encourage parents to talk to their kids about these dangers and invite them to visit our Web site at onroadoffphone.org for more information.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the National Safety Council as well as other participants from the Summit to combat distracted driving.”

CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry,
representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers.
www.ctia.org