Dear Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and White House Domestic Policy Adviser:

We are concerned citizens appealing to the federal government to address distracted driving! We call on the White House and federal regulators to launch a multi-agency task force to identify and pursue solutions to the ongoing crisis of distracted driving. This could be achieved through stronger enforcement of existing laws, and possibly new laws, restricting the use of mobile phones and other hand-held or in-vehicle video devices while driving.

This requires combined effort by the Department of Transportation and its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (commercial vehicles); the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees mobile phone carriers; the Federal Trade Commission, which fights deceptive advertising; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because distracted driving is an epidemic; and the White House Domestic Policy Council.

We encourage the government to do its part to pressure the automotive, wireless communications, and entertainment industries to step up – automakers and mobile phone companies must develop and employ new technologies that restrict distracted driving; entertainment companies must stop glamorizing distracted driving, and instead use the power of celebrity influence to educate the public about the need for responsible driving. The automotive and wireless industries should invest more in consumer education as well.

Distracted driving is destructive driving. Stop distracted driving now!