Originally published on Oct. 29, 2024 by the San Mateo Daily Journal and written by Holly Rusch

U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, introduced new legislation directing the federal government to study the correlation between vehicle technology and pedestrian fatalities, he announced at an Oct. 28 press conference. 

While the replacement of traditional knobs, switches and controls to change the temperature or the radio station with touch-based screen systems have benefits for drivers, they also require an increasing amount of driver attention, Mullin said. 

“In addition to how dependent we’ve all become on our smartphones — and that includes me — the way vehicles are being designed and the user experience is changing a lot,” he said. 

If the legislation passes, the Department of Transportation and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine would conduct a study on the impacts of new driver technologies like touch-based systems and user interface designs. The agencies would also be directed to study other factors that affect pedestrian fatalities, like time of day, changes in traffic and weather and volume of commercial vehicles. 

Compared to other developed countries, the United States has some of the highest rates of pedestrian fatalities, with 7,522 pedestrians killed in traffic collisions in one year alone and 67,000 injured. Ultimately, the legislation would ask the Department of Transportation to provide Congress and other agencies with action recommendations on the topic. 

“I enjoy the modern conveniences that technology provides, but when we’re on the roads, we all have a duty to make sure our communities are safe,” Mullin said. 

Also in attendance at the press conference was San Mateo Police Chief Ed Barberini, who advocated for the bill also endorsed by the American Automobile Association and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. 

“Learning more about the impacts [of] viewing or manipulating touch screen-based devices, whether they are in car screens or cellphones, may very well prevent and reduce collisions, injuries and even fatalities,” Barberini said. 

He also offered both pedestrians and drivers safety tips, as both foot, bicycle and vehicular traffic increases over back-to-school season and the holidays. 

“Our biggest and most constant message is speed and awareness. Adhere to those speed limits, don’t be distracted,” Barberini said. “Whether that is a cellphone, whether that is a touch screen device built into the car, whether it’s eating, whether it’s putting makeup on, whatever it may be, when you’re behind wheel of a car, you have one responsibility, and that’s to get from point A to point B in a safe manner.” 

Mullin said that a personal connection to his district — which is in close proximity to technological innovation of all kinds — as well as a national concern for the country’s poor performance in pedestrian safety both shaped an interest in the issue. 

“Living in the Bay Area … we are an epicenter of technology,” he said. “We have a lot of vehicles that have touch screens at their disposal. We’re a little bit of a test case.” 

It could be up to a multiyear effort to complete the bill as a standalone effort, or it could potentially be embedded in the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act, Mullin said. 

“We have a couple of different avenues to implement this,” he said.