Arlington, Va. — The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced “Innovating Safety” on Wednesday, an initiative to educate consumers and policymakers on the role of innovation in enhancing driver safety.
The campaign kicked off this morning at a Real Clear Politics’ policy forum in Washington, D.C.
“Safety is paramount in a moving vehicle and the consumer electronics industry recognizes that distracted driving is a critical public safety issue,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA. “Our ‘Innovating Safety’ campaign will empower consumers with information on the array of products our members design, build and sell to increase safety and awareness behind the wheel.”
The campaign focuses on products and applications designed, manufactured and sold by CEA members that encourage safer driving, the group said. It features new and existing technological advances, including those that can minimize the time a driver’s eyes are off the road, provide advance warning about road conditions and lane changes, improve hands-free functionality, and better integrate mobile devices with in-car electronics.
CEA launched a website as part of the initiative that will spotlight products designed to enhance the driving experience and reduce distracted driving. The products will be shown during Demo Days, to be held the second weekend of November, and during International CES, held Jan.7-10, 2014, in Las Vegas.
Today’s Real Clear Politics forum will feature a keynote address by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.), the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Chairman of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee for the 113th Congress. A panel discussion featuring Tom Malone, Audiovox Electronics president, will follow.
“The variety of products offered by our industry to reduce driver distraction is expanding every day,” Malone said. “The challenge is educating consumers on all of the options available to them. That is where a campaign like ‘Innovating Safety’ provides an important benefit to consumers.”
