Driving Distractions

WASHINGTON — Uncle Sam is taking an even harder line on texting while driving as the 2010 national distracted driving summit gets underway here. Employers are now under pressure to ban "any work policy or practice that requires or encourages workers to text while driving," according to a statement issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The new policy widens an earlier order by President Obama that prohibits federal employees from texting while driving. This new twist to the crackdown is somewhat curious — and redundant, given that many states already have banned texting while driving this year. But it's clear that the government wants to root out any institutional or workplace basis for the practice.

"It is imperative that employers eliminate financial and other incentives that encourage workers to text while driving," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis in a statement.

The feds, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, will begin issuing citations and unspecified penalties "where necessary to end the practice when OSHA receives a credible complaint that an employer requires texting while driving," the statement said.

Yesterday, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that "distracted driving remains an epidemic in America."

LaHood said that distracted-driving-related crashes claimed 5,474 lives and led to 448,000 traffic injuries across the U.S. in 2009. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said distraction-related fatalities represented 16 percent of overall traffic fatalities in 2009.

Inside Line says: It's not just the cops who will be coming after you and your employer for texting while driving — it's also the feds. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent

Just the Facts:

• Employers are now under pressure to ban any work policy or practice that requires or encourages workers to text while driving.
• New policy widens an earlier order by President Obama that prohibits federal employees from texting while driving.
• Distracted-driving-related crashes claimed 5,474 lives and led to 448,000 traffic injuries across the U.S. in 2009.

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