HR1090 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1090 LRB096 21842 KXB 39781 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, As of June 2009, there are over 276 million wireless cell phone subscribers in the United States, an increase of 42% from 194 million in June 2005 and nearly 3 times more than the 97 million wireless subscribers in June 2000; and

WHEREAS, Over 600 billion text messages were sent in 2008, nearly 4 times the number sent in 2006; and

WHEREAS, According to the recent National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, 80% of all traffic incidents and 65% of all near-crashes involved some type of distraction; and

WHEREAS, According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in incidents involving a distracted or inattentive driver and more than half a million people were injured; and

WHEREAS, According to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, driver distraction was reported to have been involved in 16% of all fatal crashes in 2008, an increase of 12% from 2004; and

WHEREAS, The United States Secretary of Transportation held a Distracted Driving Summit in September of 2009; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly has taken steps to decrease distracted driving in Illinois including prohibiting a driver from text messaging behind the wheel; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the effort by the United States Congress to combat distracted driving through their declaration of April as Distracted Driving Month and join in their efforts; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we designate the month of April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month in the State of Illinois and encourage the people of the State of Illinois to consider the lives of others on the road and avoid distracted driving.