Today, I issued the following statement after appearing on a panel at the FCC's Distracted Driving Staff Workshop:

"We appreciated the opportunity to discuss this important issue at the FCC. 

"Over the last few months, CTIA and our members have participated in several Congressional hearings, developed a teen-focused anti-texting and driving campaign, and spoken with numerous stakeholders to discuss ways our industry can help stop distracted driving.

“I want to reiterate our support of bans on manual texting and emailing while driving. We also believe in mobile device restrictions for teen and novice drivers so they can better focus on learning how to be better drivers. 

"We support technological advancements, but caution that they cannot be based on inflexible mandates that could stifle innovation. They must also be affordable and consumer-friendly.

"Finally, we will continue our focus on educating drivers of all ages about safe driving and responsible wireless use. Most recently, CTIA partnered with the National Safety Council this year to release our teen-focused ‘On the Road, Off the Phone’ campaign with a TV public service announcement and Web site.

“CTIA and our members look forward to working with the FCC as well as other policymakers and stakeholders at all levels to address the dangers of distracted driving."

For more information about the CTIA and NSC "On the Road, Off the Phone" campaign, please visit: www.onroadoffphone.org.

Texting and driving don't mix, and CTIA supports laws that make texting while driving illegal. Learn more about the industry's safe driving positions and watch our new public service announcement aimed at helping parents to tell their teens, when you're on the road, get off the phone. To learn more watch this segment from our November installment of our Wonder of Wireless webcast, and take a few moments to see what else we have to offer in this month's WOW.

On this month's WOW we took a trip down a mountain with Michael McKinney a resident of Lake Tahoe, CA. When a snowstorm dumped an enormous amount of fresh powder on the nearby ski slopes, McKinney & his friends couldn't wait to get out and hit the trails last year, but McKinney wound up lost & in serious trouble, until his cell phone came to the rescue. To learn more watch this segment from our November installment of our Wonder of Wireless webcast, and take a few moments to see what else we have to offer in this month's WOW.

Today I testified before the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittees on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection and on Communications, Technology and the Internet in a joint hearing called “Driven To Distraction: Technological Devices and Vehicle Safety.”

While you can read my testimony  and the statement, here are some of the key points. We believe there are three components to making safer drivers and safer roads. They are:

• Legislation:  The wireless industry joins Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in supporting a state and local ban on manual texting and emailing while driving. In fact, we are working with the National Conference of State Legislatures, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and other state organizations to craft model legislation that could be adopted across the country that would prohibit this activity. In addition, the industry supports restrictions on provisional or novice drivers from using their wireless devices while driving. 
• Technology:  We support technological advancements, but caution that they cannot be based on inflexible mandates that could stifle innovation. They must also be affordable and consumer-friendly.
• Education:  Last, but most importantly, CTIA and the wireless industry have a longstanding commitment and support to educating all drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. For almost 10 years, the association and many of our members have independently developed educational campaigns. We’ve launched several TV and radio public service announcement (PSA) campaign on safe driving. Most recently, CTIA and the National Safety Council launched our teen-focused “On the Road, Off the Phone” campaign. 

Please tell everyone you know that no one should be texting and emailing while driving. It will lead to safer drivers and safer roads for all of us.

Today, CTIA’s Executive Vice President Bobby Franklin issued the following statement after his testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit hearing on "Addressing the Problem of Distracted Driving":
 
"CTIA and the wireless industry appreciated the opportunity to participate at the House hearing on this very important issue. With so many Americans relying on mobile devices as a great safety tool, it's important to remind consumers that there is an appropriate time and inappropriate time to use them.
 
"Legislation, technology and education are three vital components that we believe are needed to develop safer drivers and safer roads. CTIA believes that manual texting and emailing while driving are incompatible with safe driving and join Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in supporting a state and local ban on this activity. In fact, we are working with the National Conference of State Legislatures, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and other state organizations to craft model legislation that could be adopted across the country that would prohibit manual texting and emailing while driving.
 
"We also support technological advancements, but caution that they cannot be based on inflexible mandates that could stifle innovation. They must also be affordable and consumer-friendly.
 
"Finally, we are proud of our long-standing educational activities, including our recent partnership with the National Safety Council to launch a teen-focused campaign, ‘On the Road, Off the Phone.' As part of the campaign, we developed a Web site and a television public service announcement which has been viewed thousands of times since we launched last month.
 
"CTIA and our members look forward to continuing to work with policymakers and stakeholders at all levels to combat distracted driving."
 
For more information about the CTIA and NSC "On the Road, Off the Phone" campaign, please visit: www.onroadoffphone.org.

Today, I issued the following statement in response to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller's (D-WV) introduction of “Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009” (S. 1938):

"CTIA welcomes introduction of Chairman Rockefeller’s legislation, and we look forward to working with the Chairman and his colleagues to enact a solution to the problem of distracted driving.

“We are particularly pleased that the legislation includes a significant educational component since, as Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood has noted, legislative prohibitions alone are unlikely to solve this problem. We have partnered with the National Safety Council to co-brand a public service announcement (PSA) and Web site (onroadoffphone.org) focused on educating consumers about the dangers and consequences of distracted driving. Having the DOT echo this message can only help as we continue to seek to inform and educate the driving public.” 

There was a lot of attention in the media about distracted driving this week. 
 
CTIA and the National Safety Council released our teen-focused TV PSA that simply tells them, "On the Road, Off the Phone." We also unveiled our joint Web site which provides parents with tips on how to talk to their teens about the dangers of distracted driving.
 
Steve Largent, our President and CEO, participated in the Department of Transportation's Distracted Driving Summit panel called “Technology and Distracted Driving” on September 30th. 
 
Then yesterday, at the conclusion of the Distracted Driving Summit, the White House issued an Executive Order and Secretary LaHood made several announcements. We concurred with their conclusion that distracted driving legislation should be developed and enforced by state and local governments.
 
But throughout this week (and for many years), we've stressed that 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. 
 
So if you remember nothing else from this week, remember this: please don't text and drive. Tell your kids, your parents, your family, your friends -- anyone and everyone. It's a simple message and one we hope more people follow.
 

Today, I 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."