Texting While Driving, Mobile | featured news

The pilot of a medical helicopter that ran out of fuel and crashed, killing all four people aboard, was distracted by text messages when he should have been conducting pre-flight checks, accident investigators said Tuesday.

"Texting while driving is not just a teen problem," says John Ulczycki of the National Safety Council. "Teens text. But you're looking at around 10 million teen drivers, but about 180 million other adult drivers."

...There’s little doubt that motorists want more connectivity, despite the worrisome traffic statistics. But many experts are betting that so-called connected car technologies can be put to work reducing the number of accidents, injuries and deaths on America’s roadways.

California Friday legalized hands-free texting and email while driving using voice-operated technology, with Governor Jerry Brown signing Assembly Bill 1536 into law. It takes effect Jan. 1.

Bright, outgoing college teen Taylor Sauer proved in the last minutes of her life she knew right from wrong — but still committed a fatal mistake. Sauer was making a late-night, four-hour drive from the Utah State University campus in Logan to visit her folks in Caldwell, Idaho. She passed the time along I-84 messaging a pal on Facebook about the Denver Broncos football team. But she stopped short, writing in her final missive, "I can't discuss this now. Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha."