The chief of the
"I'm just putting everyone on notice. A car is not a mobile device," said David Strickland, administrator of the NHTSA. "I'm not in the business of helping people tweet better. I'm not in the business of helping people post on Facebook better."
Strickland made his remarks at the 2011 Detroit Telematics conference in Novi, Mich.
Strickland admitted to the fact that there are useful in-car applications that help drivers, dealerships and automakers diagnose mechanical problems and find solutions faster. He also lauded the systems that help notify emergency responders after an automobile accident.
However, he remarked, the industry needs to be aware of the differences between technology such as global positioning or mechanical analytics that supports a driver or enhances vehicle safety and those technologies that simply distract people from driving safely.
The NHTSA offered stats from 2009, the full year for which the agency collected data: Approximately 33,000 people died in U.S. traffic accidents -- 995 of those fatalities involved a technology distraction such as someone using a smartphone or cellphone while driving.
