US Presses to Rein In Web Gadgets in New Cars

As consumers clamor for more tools to help them stay connected to online media on the road, auto makers are coming under fresh pressure to minimize distracting gadgetry in new cars.

"There's absolutely no reason for any person to download their Facebook into the car," US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. "It's not necessary." Sec LaHood is pushing to open new fronts in his long-running campaign against the proliferation of technology-driven diversions. In conversations with industry chief executives, Sec LaHood says he is making it plain he isn't pleased with the trend toward putting more media feeds and gadgetry into the cockpits of new vehicles.

Sec LaHood and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reports to him, have the power to curb the info-tainment technology built into cars if they can demonstrate a threat to safety. He is also urging auto executives to free up advertising money to create public-service announcements that remind motorists to stay focused on the road, and not to text and drive. Sec LaHood compares the effort to change public attitudes toward distracted driving to the long-running efforts to change attitudes and behavior related to drinking and driving. The Transportation Department's 2012 budget requests about $50 million to expand efforts to ticket people texting while driving, following the example of the "Click It or Ticket" campaigns that helped boost seat-belt use to about 85% in 2010. Still, Sec LaHood says he knows what he's up against in the fight against distracted driving. "We know people are hooked on cellphones and texting devices." he says.