This past December the National Transportation Safety Board released a study which seemed to indicate that deaths attributed to distracted driving now outnumber those attributed to driving under the influence of alcohol. Some have questioned the validity of that research pointing out that it is difficult to determine whether or not distracted driving was the actual cause of these crashes of just a coincidence. Similar arguments are often made concerning drivers under the influence of alcohol, but scientists have confirmed that both these actions-driving while distracted or driving drunk does impair your ability to operate a vehicle. Specifically, both these actions inhibit your movement, slow your reaction time and lead drivers to lose focus on the road ahead of them.

Drunk driving laws have been enforced for decades and the impact on the number of fatalities caused by DUI has been dramatic. This has lent credence to the effort to enact a nation wide ban on distracted driving, although there remains some resistance.

While legislators argue over the merits of a distracted driving ban, police focus on existing laws, and enforcing public safety on the roads and highways.

A New York State Police roving DWI sobriety enforcement details, concentrated on Route 6 in Cortlandt and on the Sprain Brook Parkway on May 11 and 12, resulted in the arrest of six drivers for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. They also issued 12 speeding tickets and 38 other citations for a variety of traffic related infractions.

This is a win for the state police whose job it is to enforce existing traffic laws, but it also a win for public safety.

Unfortunately his 2007 push to convert the fleets met stiff opposition from the taxi cab owners lobby who argued that hybrid vehicles were less safe and more expensive and therefore were an undue burden on the industry.

Bloomberg is still pushing for improvements in the taxi cab fleet as a way of decreasing the amount of carbon emissions. Already about 30 percent of the New York taxis on the road today are hybrid vehicles–a dramatic improvement from where they were 10 years ago, when hybrid cars were mostly unheard of.

There is still quite a way to go. A new plan to convert all existing taxi cabs from the now discontinued Ford Crown Victoria to the Nissan NV200. These new vehicles will offer a slight decrease in fuel consumption, but are still a far cry from the hybrid vehicles Bloomberg had wanted to see in place.

Switching from a Ford Crown Victoria to a Toyota Prius would save taxi cab drivers about $25 a day in fuel costs, given that they drive about 1,300 miles a week. However, the advantages of using the Crown Victoria, which has replacement parts which are readily available and therefore cheap, are not to be overlooked.

Until hybrid vehicles are as common as mass produced fossil fuel powered vehicles it seems unlikely they will ever be considered a viable alternative for taxi cab companies. As for safety standards, all vehicles on the roads today must pass rigid standards enforced by the National Highway Traffic safety Administration, and therefore offer the same level of safety.

When it comes to vehicle safety the difference between a hybrid vehicle or a straight fossil fuel powered vehicle the point is moot. The savings on fuel and the limited amount of carbon emissions simply cannot be argued. It is real and it is coming soon to a taxi cab near you.

For those of you who think that it’s ok for you to ignore your parking tickets since you live “across the river” New Jersey does the same thing.

There is another consideration as well: states are working feverishly to connect their department of motor vehicle information, so if you do something wrong in one state, you can’t just go to the neighboring state to get a fresh start.

What is at stake for these states is millions of dollars in so far unpaid fines. They want their money, especially as the Recession continues to weight down local, national and global economies. Their best efforts to collect these unpaid fines come only when they provide a swift and severe penalty to people who do not pay. If they just let you keep racking up the parking fines you are likely to go on racking up the parking fines. If they suspend your license for it, however, you not only have to pay your parking fines you also get socked with a driver’s license reinstatement fee as an added deterrent.

In the United States today a driver’s license is very important if you work or go to school or just need to get to the grocery store once a week. There is no other way to travel if not by your own transportation. So the threat of losing your license should be enough to convince every driver to pay their parking tickets before they lose their privileges.

For the most part they do it because of the discomfort involved in trying to squeeze their frame into and around the seat belt strap. Unfortunately, despite their larger frames they are no less at risk of serious injury in the event of a crash than anyone else.

The university looked at data from more than 300,000 crashes and found that someone with an average sized frame was nearly 70 percent more likely to wear their seat belt than someone who obese. Even being slightly over weight meant that person was less likely to wear their seat belt.

The study does not offer any solutions for the problem of obese drivers not wearing their seat belts, but repeated studies have shown that wearing a seat belt dramatically decreases the risk of suffering a serious injury or even a fatality as a result of a crash.

Because seat belts are required to be worn by every one who drives the road in America, police officers are also no less inclined to issue citations to drivers who refuse to buckle-up regardless of their weight or size.

New York defensive drivers understand the importance of wearing their seat belts regardless of comfort, because they recognize that wearing a seat belt dramatically reduces the likelihood they will suffer injury or death as a result of a vehicle crash. Whether driving or just riding as a passenger, seat belts have repeatedly shown their value when it comes to saving lives and preventing injury.

For drivers, wearing a seat belt is not only a good idea, it’s also the law. And it is well worth enduring a little discomfort in exchange for a greatly increased measure of safety.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the fact that so many tickets were handed out during the well publicized effort to control distracted driving was proof that some drivers simply weren’t getting the message. It also makes it all that much more likely future “Operation Hang Up” events will happen.

The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee funds Operation Hang Up campaigns through a Distracted Driving Enforcement Grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grant enables the State Police to focus patrol resources on the issue of distracted driving and supplements their conventional traffic safety and enforcement efforts. Similar enhanced enforcement periods will be conducted in the future. The first Operation Hang Up enhanced enforcement campaign took place over last year’s Thanksgiving Holiday, during which the New York State Police ticketed more than 800 drivers.

New York seems to be on the right track when it comes to cracking down on distracted drivers. Increased enforcement has produced tremendous results which is a tell-tale sign that lots of people are violating the law, even in the face of what has been a very public effort to combat them and get them to put the devices down.

Last year there were nearly one million crashes caused by distracted driving. About a third of those crashes resulted in a fatality, making distracted driving the leading cause of traffic fatalities, outpacing even fatalities caused by driving under the influence.

Cuomo has made it clear he has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to distracted driving within his state and he expects local and state police to follow his lead. What is unclear is how well, or how quickly, New York drivers will get the message, out down their handheld devices and learn to drive without distractions.

Sisters Maria Nunez, 39, and Maria Gonzalez, 45, Gonzalez’s daughter Jocelyn, 9, Nunez’s daughters Marlyn, 3, and Niely, 7, and the children’s grandparents Jacob Nunez, 85, and Ana Julia Martinez, 81, died Sunday. They died near the spot where at least two previous fatal accidents had occurred under similar circumstances.

Police vehicle accident investigators reported that the driver of an SUV which plummeted off a bridge near the Bronx Zoo was going 68 mph on a narrow portion of the road marked with a 50 mph speed limit. This, they say, was a contributing factor to the crash. However, they also admit that if the concrete barrier on the edge of the road had been higher, or a curb had been removed, or the speed further reduced in the area, the crash might have been avoided.

New York state DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald said in a written statement, “The New York State Department of Transportation shares community concerns about the safety of the Bronx River Parkway in the wake of the tragic crash that claimed the lives of seven family members on April 29.”

McDonald said the department will install concrete barriers along the outer travel lane on both the northbound and southbound lanes over the viaduct at the Bronx Zoo, as well as two other similarly constructed viaducts south that cross over East Tremont Avenue and the Amtrak lines

No doubt changes to the roadway will help prevent further similar crashes in the area, but an emphasis on safe driving certainly couldn’t hurt. Not all roadways are 100 percent safe at all times and some roadways are definitely dangerous no matter what time of day you drive on them. Drives who focus on their defensive driving skills will be a much better position to protect themselves and everyone who shares the road with them from the dangers of traffic crashes.

Police traffic investigators said the driver of the SUV involved was traveling at almost 70 miles per hour, lost control, struck a concrete barrier, over-corrected and sent the vehicle over the guardrail where it plunged almost 60 feet to the ground, killing everyone inside.

This particular stretch of the Bronx River Parkway was the scene of another traffic fatality caused when that vehicle also plunged over the guard rail. In fact, three sections of the parkway in the Bronx, including one at or near the accident site, are on the state Transportation Department’s 5 Percent List, a federally mandated report of locations “exhibiting the most severe highway safety needs.”

The state is likely taking a good hard look at this section of road, possibly planning to make at least some modifications to improve safety for all drivers who use it.

The state Department of Transportation’s only comment was an email message that said, “We are working closely with all agencies involved to determine the cause of this tragic accident.”

On the highway, just before the accident site, is a sign that warns of “Limited Sight Distance” on the six-lane parkway, which runs north-south between the south Bronx and central Westchester County.

The accident was the second in the past year where a car fell off the same stretch of the parkway; the earlier accident wasn’t fatal. In 2006, six people were killed on the parkway when one car crossed the median into oncoming traffic.

Police said Maria Gonzalez of the Bronx was driving south at 68 mph when she bumped a concrete barrier separating the north- and southbound lanes. With one tire damaged, her Honda Pilot skittered across three lanes of traffic, hit a 2-foot-high concrete curb and went airborne, clearing a 4-foot-tall guardrail.

New York State Police have been out in force this week, specifically looking for drivers who flaunt the ban on handheld devices, making traffic stops and issuing tickets. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has spoken publicly about his support of the ban and the increased enforcement.

“It is illegal to use a handheld electronic device while you are operating a motor vehicle, period,” Cuomo said at a Manhattan news conference Tuesday. “And we’re going to enforce the laws to change the culture.”

This week is the second campaign against distracted driving in less than six months. The first campaign was conducted over the last Thanksgiving holiday and resulted in 800 tickets being handed out. Both campaigns are funded through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that was earmarked for anti-distracted driving programs. Cuomo has said publicly that he expects similar campaigns will be conducted in the future, and will continue to be conducted until drivers get the message that distracted driving is against the law, and in some cases, deadly.

The National Transportation Safety Board has reported that distracted driving is responsible for more deadly crashes than drunk driving. last year, according to the NTSB, there were more than 3,000 fatal crashes caused by distracted driving, prompting them to suggest a nation wide ban on distracted driving was needed.

New York state has one of the most strict and comprehensive bans on distracted driving in the nation. Last year Governor Cuomo issued an order making violation of the ban a primary offense, giving police the authority to make traffic stops and issue citations to anyone they see in violation of the ban.

The current campaign began April 23 and continues through April 29, with state troopers coming down hard on any driver who risks paying attention to the their handheld device instead of their driving skills.

This is the second ‘Operation Hang Up’ conducted by New York State Troopers. During the first campaign, conducted over the Thanksgiving holiday, more than 800 drivers were cited for violating the comprehensive handheld devices ban.

Governor Andrew Cuomo told news agencies this week that the success of both campaigns means more distracted driving campaigns are likely in the future. The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee funds Operation Hang Up campaigns through a Distracted Driving Enforcement Grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The money funds the department’s specific enforcement of the state’s distracted driving laws.

The added focus on distracted driving has been extremely effective, even when there hasn’t been an active campaign. During the first quarter of 2012 New York State Troopers handed out more than 65,000 citations for distracted driving, setting a standard for what will and will not be accepted from drivers.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, distracted driving now accounts for more traffic related fatalities than driving under the influence of alcohol. The NTSB recommended that all states enact a total ban on the use of handheld devices, but New York already had one of the most comprehensive bans on distracted driving in the country. Last summer New York made it a primary offense for drivers to using handheld devices behind the wheel, empowering police to stop people they saw violating the ban and issue citations on the spot. They also raise the penalties for first time offender and subsequent offenses.

Thus begins ‘Operation Hang Up‘ the first new York State Police focused effort on reducing the number of distracted drivers on state roads and highways. The effort will require stepped up enforcement of existing laws, more patrols on the streets and more attention to exactly what all those drivers they pass are doing.

New York has one of the strictest anti-distracted driving laws in the country. They ban the use of cell phones or devices for texting while driving. Penalties are severe and police are authorized to stop and cite any drivers they see violating the law. There is no wiggle room. If you try to text and drive, or chat on your cell phone while you are driving, and police catch you, you will be cited for distracted driving.

By emphasizing enforcement of distracted driving laws in New York, state police are hoping to raise awareness not only of the existing law, but also of the dangers of distracted driving itself.

According to a recent report by the National Transportation Safety Board, more serious vehicle crashes are caused by distracted driving than those caused by DUI. That’s a first in the history of automobiles, but given the ubiquitous nature of digital devices the trend is only likely to continue if police and law makers don’t step up their vigilance.

For now, police are emphasizing the new laws in New York in every way possible, both to educate drivers and keep the roads safe. In other states where police have focused enforcement on distracted driving a weeks worth of enforcement usually results in hundreds of citations. By this time next we will know for sure what effect the NYSP stepped-up enforcement had, but it seems likely they will at least catch a few distracted drivers.