A new group of car makers, wireless companies and safety advocates have formed the DRIVE Coaliton, with aims to counter the recent rise in distracted driving legislation.

According to an internal document, DRIVE claims that efforts to prevent distracted driving have morphed into a “benign debate” that has been “hijacked” by legislators and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey. They are set to argue that driver education is key and that strict state and federal restrictions will aversely effect innovation, even going so far as to name auto, tech and insurance companies as “collateral damage” in this fight.

While DRIVE’s stance on increasing driver education is a noble one, their assertion that legislation hurts their respective industries seems a bit misguided. What is hurting their industry is the vast and expanding number of deaths caused by distracted driving each year. The solution should not be to fight legislation, but innovate and provide new ways for people to interact with their devices in a safe way.

We are starting to see such innovation happening. ZoomSafer provides the ability to suppress calls and texts with the added benefit of offering policy management and monitoring capabilities to companies and fleet managers, minimizing risk and liability. The upcoming DROID X from Motorola features a driving mode that will automatically activate when one puts it into a car dock. Ford has rolled out SYNC, which incorporates voice activation into their vehicles.

These are all solutions that not only address the problem but also encourage innovation and increase productivity for business and individuals. DRIVE can complain all they want but the legislation is coming, rightly so. If they don’t find ways to comply with these laws, like most individuals and businesses are doing, they may find themselves left behind.