Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 32
CHAPTER 87
Relative to distracted driving.
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Filed with
Secretary of State
July 16, 2021.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 32, Gonzalez.
Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
This measure would proclaim April 2021 as Distracted Driving Awareness Month in California and call 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.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, Distracted driving is defined as any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving; and
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
WHEREAS, The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Research found that even though 97 percent of drivers nationwide say texting and emailing while driving is a serious threat to their safety, nearly one-half admit to having read a text or email while driving in the last 30 days; and
WHEREAS, A 2020 statewide traffic safety survey conducted by the California Office of Traffic Safety similarly reported that more than 75 percent of Californians surveyed thought texting on a cell phone while driving posed the biggest safety problem on California roadways; and
WHEREAS, Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted; 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 road departure crash by three times and odds of rear-ending a vehicle by more than a multiple of seven; and
WHEREAS, There are more than 20,000 drivers, on average, in California involved in a crash every year where inattention is a factor; and
WHEREAS, In 2019, 3,142 people were killed nationwide in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers; and
WHEREAS, In 2018, distracted driving citations reached 108,000 statewide; and
WHEREAS, In 2018, 9 percent of all drivers 15 to 19 years of age who were involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash, and nearly a one-quarter of those involved cell phone use; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, only about one out of five 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, In addition to other factors, collisions involving distracted driving often include unsafe speed, improper turning, or not reacting or stopping in time; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims April 2021 as Distracted Driving Awareness Month in California 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 it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.