Government to
Test Cell-Phone Lanes on Interstates
By Bill
Britton
Special to
TPN — Chairman Deborah Hearseman of the National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) announced that several major U.S. cities will test the practicality of
constructing separate cell-phone lanes on interstate highways. The purpose of this initiative is to reduce
the risk of injury or death to non cell-phone users.
“The
National Safety Council estimates that in 2010, 1.6 million car crashes occurred
while drivers were talking or texting on wireless devices,” said Hearseman. “The NTSB believes that it makes sense to segregate
these drivers so that non cell-phone users enjoy a higher survival rate.”
Approximately
20 miles of the I-495 Capitol Beltway around Washington D.C., from North Bethesda,
MD to Alexandria, VA, will see an additional lane constructed with appropriate
barriers installed between the new lane and adjacent lanes. Caterpillar 908H Wheel Loaders will be placed
at strategic points to push incapacitated vehicles into a deep ditch that will
be cleared periodically. A barge
terminal is being constructed where I-495 crosses the Potomac River to receive
the wreckage.
The All-Thumbs
Coalition has been lobbying for a cell-phone lane for years. President Leon Carpal feels that the I-495
project is “a way to prove that mobile device users can be responsible citizens. We’ll only have ourselves to blame if an
accident does happen. The one downside
is the possibility that we’ll be discriminated against with higher insurance
rates.”
In related
news, Fox TV has announced a new reality show for the fall season: “I-495
Survival.”
