Use of Cell Phones While Driving
Distracted driving is defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as "any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing." About 20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 happened because of distracted driving. Many states and municipalities are taking steps to address this issue by enacting cell phone laws.
Other People Are Reading
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Driving Distractions
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Using a cell phone to talk, text or surf the Internet while driving can cause you to lose focus on the road. Your reaction time is reduced considerably. A 2006 study by the University of Utah found that "people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit." According to the NHTSA, three types of distractions can occur while driving: visual, manual and cognitive, all of which can occur with cell phone use. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Study 's January 2010 report showed that all forms of cellular phone use led to increased time to respond to traffic situations; the greatest form of distraction was cognitive distraction caused by intense cell phone conversations.
Laws
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State laws address cell phone and text messaging in different ways. As of March 2011, eight states and the District of Columbia banned all drivers from using a handheld cell phone. Although no state bans hands-free cell phone use for all drivers, many do not allow young drivers, usually less than 18 years old, or school bus drivers to ever use any kind of cell phone. More than half the states (30) ban text messaging for all drivers. Some of those that do not ban texting do not allow novice drivers to text. In addition, some local jurisdictions have their own laws regarding cell phone usage.
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New Technology
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Some cell phone companies have begun to consider developing technology that will not let you receive calls or texts while driving. Although this technology has not yet been implemented, T-Mobile in 2011 introduced a voluntary service that will automatically disable rings and alerts and send your calls to voice mail while you are in a moving car.
Impact of Bans
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The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) released a four-state study in September 2010 that found no reductions in car accidents since the laws banning cell phone use took effect. The study showed a slight increase in the amount of insurance claims since the ban took place, with the HLDI suggesting drivers might have taken their eyes off the road for even longer by attempting to hide their now-illegal texting. The same group found similar results in a previous study about hand-held phones. Andrian Lund, president of HLDI, states that these findings "call into question the way policymakers are trying to address the problem of distracted driving crashes."
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References
- Governors Highway Safety Association: Cell Phone and Texting Laws
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Policy Statement and Compiled FAQs on Distracted Driving
- University of Utah: Drivers on Cell Phones Are As Bad As Drunks
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: Texting Bans Don't Reduce Crashes; Effects are Slight Crash Increases
- New York Times; A Short-Circuit to Distracted Driving; Matt Richtel; January 2011
- AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety; The Effect of Cellular Phone Use Upon Driver Attention; James McKight, et al.; 1991
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
