Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Study Says Cellphone Ban Cuts Traffic Deaths In California

Since California passed a law forbidding the use of handheld phones while driving in 2008, the number of traffic deaths there has declined- by 22%! A study by the state Office of Traffic Safety, shows that the number of deaths related to talking on phones has dropped even more; 47%.

We have the same law here in Washington State, but I only know one person who's received a ticket for talking on the phone or texting, despite seeing dozens of people doing so each day. Why does California's law seem to work so well while ours doesn't appear to? Governor Jerry Brown says California's law is viewed as more effective than other states' because it is strictly enforced. Here's more on that study.

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About SRTC

SRTC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Spokane County. Urbanized areas with populations exceeding 50,000 people are required to have an MPO. SRTC was formed to address the county's transportation planning needs. It provides coordination in planning between the public, cities, small towns, the county, the state, transit providers, and tribes.

SRTC offers services including transportation monitoring, transportation modeling, census information analysis, travel demand forecasting, historical traffic count analysis, geographic information systems, and trip generation rates.