BMW Rallies with DoT on Distracted Driving

Perhaps the most debated issue in the automotive world this year, distracted driving and its effects on the drivers have slowly gained the attention of the car makers selling their products in the US. The repeated call to arms made by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reached the ears of BMW US' Jim O'Donnell, who traveled to DC to show LaHood the accomplishments of the German manufacturer's DRIVE IT HOME, DON'T TXT & DRIVE campaign.

Launched this spring, at about the same time Oprah was fighting on TV to help ban texting and driving, the BMW campaign tried to showcase to the drivers in US schools the dangers of distracted driving.

"The most necessary skill for safe driving, especially among the young and inexperienced, is attention to driving," said O'Donnell.

"Our Don't TXT & Drive campaign coupled with road course training helps students understand and experience what can happen when they are distracted while driving. It's a life changing experience and BMW is committed to the message of Don't TXT & Drive and to training as many as possible to properly and safely handle their vehicle."

In September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the 2009 Motor Vehicles Crashes report, a series of numbers which showed that the proportion of fatalities associated with driver distraction increased from 10 percent to 16 percent between 2005 and 2009.

This is despite the fact that overall, US roads registered its lowest casualty rate in the last 50 years. Without distractions, the 5,474 lives lost due to this reason in 2009 would have been saved