The distracted driving campaign is funded by an $111,393 grant from the National Safety Council. Photo: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
3 min to read
The distracted driving campaign is funded by an $111,393 grant from the National Safety Council. Photo: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) launched a new education and enforcement campaign to address distracted driving in San Francisco. The initiative is in support of city’s Vision Zero goal to eliminate all traffic deaths in the city.
To collect more data about distracted driving and its impact on San Francisco’s communities, the SFMTA is leading a first-of-its-kind campaign to study, enforce, and reduce distracted driving behavior in San Francisco. San Franciscans can now use a new crowdsourcing website to identify locations where they have witnessed distracted driving and would like to see increased enforcement.
Ad Loading...
According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, talking or texting on a cell phone is the leading cause of driver distraction, and 80 percent of traffic crashes involve some type of driver distraction. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also found that drivers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to be in a traffic crash, and that the rate of fatal collisions caused by distracted driving is increasing faster than fatalities caused by alcohol and drug use, speeding, and failure to use a seatbelt while driving.
The crowdsourced data will inform the location of six high visibility San Francisco Police Department enforcement events targeting distracted driving in early 2018. The SFMTA and San Francisco Department of Public Health will monitor distracted driving activity at the chosen locations before, during, and after the campaign.
One of the primary issues with collecting data about distracted driving is that it is chronically underreported. This is for a variety of reasons, including a lack of nationwide standardization in police reports, difficulties in being able to determine whether distraction figured into a collision, and an unwillingness of drivers to report distractions.
“High visibility enforcement campaigns have been shown to reduce distracted driving in cities where they have been conducted, so this new campaign provides us with an opportunity to test them in San Francisco,” said San Francisco Police Chief, William Scott. “Additionally, the campaign will enable us to collect data about distracted driving at the local level, where none currently exists. This will help us better understand the true scope of this known and dangerous activity in San Francisco.”
The distracted driving campaign is funded by an $111,393 grant from the National Safety Council. In addition to the crowdsourcing tool, the high visibility enforcement events and the program evaluation efforts, the grant will also enable the SFMTA and partner agencies to conduct statistically significant research into San Franciscans’ attitudes toward distracted driving and understanding of California laws that relate to cell phone usage while driving; develop a marketing campaign focused on distracted driving prevention; and partner with third-party app developers to introduce and/or enhance existing safety features that curb cell phone usage while driving.
The Plan is CTA's formal response to an FTA Special Directive issued in December and details how the agency will significantly expand the law enforcement surge it launched.
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
During a safety blitz, Metra employees will visit one of the railroad’s 243 stations during the morning rush hour, distributing educational materials on train and grade-crossing safety, answering questions, and listening to riders’ safety concerns.
Operated in partnership with Tech Valley Security, trained CDTA Ambassadors will be on select routes and will rotate throughout CDTA’s route network. Their presence is intended to provide customers with an approachable, visible resource focused on assistance and engagement.
Customers have always been able to report concerns through the CATS Customer Service line or the “Report a Problem to CATS” feature in the CATS-Pass mobile app; however, CATS has also integrated a Text-a-Tip line, giving riders multiple, easy-to-use channels to get support.
The audit found multiple safety compliance failures at the Charlotte agency, citing elevated assault risks and ordering corrective action within 30 days.
While their comprehensive analysis of bus stops focused on Massachusetts, the researchers are excited about the generalizability of the findings and application to other locations.
