Prepared Remarks for Secy. Ray LaHood U.S. Department of Transportation

On behalf of everyone at the U.S. Department of Transportation, I want to thank all of you for your time and effort over these past two days.

Keeping Americans safe is without question the federal government's highest priority – and that includes safety on the road.

The fact that 300 people showed up to participate in this ground-breaking effort suggests that you share our priorities and our concerns.

Your work will help both government and the private sector to address distracted driving through better use of transportation and safety technology, telecommunications, law enforcement, research, and other methods.

Based on the recommendations you developed in the last 2 days, and our ongoing research at DOT, we will set a new course of action.

Meanwhile, the White House has taken an important first step.

Last night, President Obama signed an Executive Order directing federal employees not to engage in texting while driving government-owned vehicles; when using electronic equipment supplied by the government while driving; or while driving privately owned vehicles when they're on official government business.

The order also encourages federal contractors and others doing business with the government to adopt and enforce their own policies banning texting while driving on the job or working on behalf of the government.

This order sends a very clear signal to the American public that distracted driving is dangerous and unacceptable.

It shows that the federal government is leading by example.

This is a very big deal.

I fully expect that all DOT employees and contractors across the country will take this order seriously.

Let's show our friends and families that we can resist the temptation to answer the phone, send a message, or allow some other distraction that interferes with our driving.

Our Department will also work with Congress, state and local governments, and other stakeholders to ensure that the issue of distracted driving is appropriately addressed.

But the time to deal with this is now, and that's why we're already taking a number of actions to combat distracted driving.

A year ago, in October 2008, we began enforcing limitations on texting and cell phone use in the freight, intercity, and commuter rail industries.

Now we're going further.

We will initiate three separate actions:

One: Make permanent restrictions on the use of cell phones and other electronic devices in rail operations.

Two: Ban text messaging altogether, and restrict the use of cell phones by truck and interstate bus operators.

And three: Disqualify school bus drivers convicted of texting while driving, from maintaining their commercial driver's licenses.

To further enhance safety, I'm calling on state and local governments to work with us to reduce fatalities and crashes by making distracted driving part of their state highway plans, and by passing state and local laws against distracted driving in all types of vehicles—especially school buses.

High-visibility enforcement has proven effective in reducing drunk driving and increasing seat belt use, and we believe it can also work for distracted driving.

By this time next year, every licensed driver in America – private and commercial – should be far more aware of the risks and consequences of distracted driving than they are today.

Driving while distracted should just feel wrong – just as driving without a seatbelt, or driving while intoxicated, seems wrong to most Americans today.

We're not going to break everyone of their bad habits – but we are going to raise awareness and sharpen the consequences.

And with the help of all the advocacy and industry groups out there, we're going to change our culture to recognize that distracted driving is personally irresponsible and socially unacceptable behavior.

But in the end, it's important to recognize we won't make this problem go away simply by passing laws.

As I said yesterday, we cannot simply legislate behavior and expect to get the kinds of results we need to improve road safety.

People need to use common sense – and show some consideration for all the other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians out there.

Parents need to set clear ground rules for their teenage drivers – and reinforce them on a regular basis.

And employers need to change their mindset, too. If you know your staff has just left work for the day, please don't expect them to instantly return a call or text message when they're driving home.

As a grandfather of 9, I want know that my grandkids are safe when they're in the car – and that the roads will be safe for them when they grow up and learn to drive.

And so I want to thank the courageous survivors who joined us, whose lives were turned upside down by careless drivers.

And I want to thank the young adults on our youth panel for speaking out – especially Reggie Shaw, who has been very open about the tragic mistake he made.

I also want to thank my DOT co-workers for working so hard on this problem – and producing good results for the American people.

Peter Appel and his staff at the Research and Innovative Technology Administration did an outstanding job bringing the experts together for this summit.

And I want to thank the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for contributing to our ongoing work on distracted driving.

These agencies are producing new research and information that will help us figure out how we can stem the tide of this dangerous epidemic.

I'm greatly encouraged by what we've accomplished here these last 2 days.

Working together, we're going to make sure that traveling in America is as safe as it can possibly be – and I strongly encourage everyone to show a healthy respect for the rules of the road.

Thank you very much.

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Briefing Room