State is lagging in efforts to reduce distracted driving

Twenty-eight states have enacted bans on texting while driving, including Vermont and Georgia, where governors signed such measures this month. The Massachusetts House and Senate have passed different versions of a texting ban, but have not come up with a proposal that could pass both houses.

State Senator Steven A. Baddour, Senate chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee, said yesterday that he is optimistic a resolution will be reached before the session ends July 31.

“We’re taking it seriously, and we’re going to have it on the governor’s desk in plenty of time,’’ said Baddour, a Methuen Democrat, adding that lawmakers can only do so much to prevent distracted driving. “A lot of this is common sense that people need to practice on their own.’’

Massachusetts also lags behind other states in the use of public education and law enforcement to reduce distracted driving, according to the “Curbing Distracted Driving’’ report, which is based on the first survey of practices in all 50 states and three territories.

Massachusetts has “some work to do’’ on addressing distracted driving, said Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association. “Everybody has been focusing on the laws, but there’s no magic bullet to address this,’’ Adkins said. “We’re really where we were with drunk driving 25 years ago. . . . You have to have a comprehensive system of approaches to address highway safety problems.’’

Adkins said examples of distracted driving include talking or texting, applying lipstick, fiddling with GPS devices, and craning to check on children.

Massachusetts has taken some steps to combat distracted driving. The state addresses the issue in teen driver education courses and in its drivers’ manual and has outreach programs on the issue, including through online social networks. But the state does not record data about the role of distracted driving in accidents, as 43 other states do. Massachusetts also does not ask about the issue in driver exams, and does not enlist employers in the effort to reduce the practice.

State officials say that Massachusetts is ranked the safest in the nation when it comes to fatal crashes per vehicle-mile traveled.

“Our number one priority is protecting our residents and the traveling public, and safety is a central theme at our new unified transportation organization,’’ Jeffrey B. Mullan, the secretary of the state Department of Transportation, said in a statement. “It is now time for us to build on our collaborative efforts with the Legislature and move on strong, common-sense legislation to curb distracted driving and further enhance the safety of our roads.’’

Jeff Larson, head of a Massachusetts nonprofit that promotes safer driving, said the state’s relatively low number of highway fatalities simply reflects terrain and demographics. “We have a highly urbanized state with quite a bit of congestion,’’ said Larson, president of the Safe Roads Alliance. “People travel much more slowly than they do, for example, in Wyoming, where they travel 100 miles per hour, and that’s why people die there.’’

Larson, who has been tracking the Legislature’s work, said he thinks state lawmakers have come around on distracted driving after six years of debate.

However, he said, “Massachusetts has not really focused on this issue in terms of their policy or their practice compared to other states,’’ Larson added. “I don’t think it has thus far been taken seriously by the state.’’

Debate continues over whether crash data support the texting bans or bans on handheld phones some states have enacted. Studies from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit research group, suggest that neither is a solution to distracted driving. But some research suggests the handheld bans may be effective at reducing crashes in urban areas, Larson said.

“Clearly, distracted driving is a problem,’’ said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute. “What is not clear is how best to address it.’’

Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com.