According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), “distracted driving is becoming the new DUI; it’s becoming an epidemic.” And in order to combat this, they are recommending a nationwide ban on cellphone use while driving. This would include text …

States that have laws banning texting while driving are not seeing a reduction in the number of accidents, according to a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).

In fact, such bans are associated with a slight increase in the frequency of insurance claims filed under collision coverage for damage to vehicles in crashes. This finding is based on comparisons of claims in 4 states before and after texting ban, compared with patterns of claims in nearby states.

Even with academic research indicating the consequences of texting while driving can be as dangerous as drunk driving, some teens don’t see it that way, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of State Farm.

Among 14-17 years olds who intend to have or already have a driver’s license, the survey found 36 percent strongly agree that if they regulary text and drive it could lead to a fatality. In contrast, more than half (55%) of teens strongly agree that drinking while driving could be fatal.

State Farm has introduced a new free iPhone and iPod touch application aimed at helping young drivers stay safe on the road.

The "Steer Clear" application is part of State Farm’s safe drivers discount program. The app gives young drivers a way to complete the Steer Clear discount program and encourages supervised driver education.

State laws that ban cell phone use and texting while driving fail to reduce accidents, according to a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).

HLDI researchers calculated monthly collision claims per 100 insured vehicle years for vehicles up to 3 years old during the months immediately before and after hand-held phone use was banned while driving in New York, the District of Columbia, Connecticut and California.

U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and National Safety Council President Janet Froetscher today announced the creation of FocusDriven, a national nonprofit organization designed to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.

The group will be led by Jennifer Smith, who has been an advocate against distracted driving since her mother was killed by someone talking on a cell phone while driving in 2008.

Motorists who write text messages while driving are six times more likely to crash than those who don’t text while driving, according to a new study by University of Utah psychologists.

The National Safety Council is urging motorists to stop using cell phone and messaging devices while driving, and is calling on businesses to implement policies prohibiting it and governors and legislators in all 50 states to pass laws banning the behavior.

Drivers are far more distracted by talking on a mobile phone than by conversing with a passenger in an automobile, according to a new study by University of Utah psychologists Frank Drews, David Strayer and Monisha Pasupathi.

The study used a sophisticated driving simulator and found that when drivers talk on a cell phone, they drift out of their lanes, and miss exists more frequently than drivers talking with a passenger.

State legislators in Virginia want to ban driving while texting (DWT) on a cell phone.

Virginia’s General Assembly is proposing legislation that would prohibit texting while driving an electric wheelchair, riding a bicycle, motorcycle and a moped.

Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and WPP all ponied up big bucks to gain advertising companies, as Tacoda’s Dave Morgan suggests a splintering online audience has driven this.

Eighty-nine percent of American adults believe that sending text messages or emails while driving is dangerous and should be banned according to a new survey commissioned by mobile messaging service Pinger and conducted by Harris Interactive.

Though retail sites get about a quarter of their traffic from search engines, they are also increasingly getting traffic from MySpace, perhaps answering some reservations posed about the efficacy of creating a presence in social networks.

People who frequently drive are more active online and savvy than the average consumer, according to Scarborough Research.

They found that the top 20 percent of U.S. adult drivers in terms of miles logged were 48 percent more likely than the average consumer to have spent $1,000 or more online in the past year. Seventeen percent were more likely to have broadband and 28 percent more likely to have spent 20 hours or more online weekly.

One might think the rise in US gas prices would spur people to race to the Web for pricing information and hybrid car details. One would be wrong to think these things.