Safety council: Ban cell phones while driving

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Group claims that cell phone use increases the risk of a crash fourfold

WASHINGTON - A national safety group is advocating a total ban on cell phone use while driving, saying the practice is clearly dangerous and leads to fatalities.

States should ban drivers from using hand-held and hands-free cell phones, and businesses should prohibit employees from using cell phones while driving on the job, the congressionally chartered National Safety Council says, taking those positions for the first time.

The group's president and chief executive, Janet Froetscher, likened talking on cell phones to drunken driving, saying cell phone use increases the risk of a crash fourfold.

"When our friends have been drinking, we take the car keys away. It's time to take the cell phone away," Froetscher said in interview.

Six states ban hand-held phones
No state currently bans all cell phone use while driving. Six states — California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah and Washington — and the District of Columbia ban the use of hand-held cell phones behind the wheel, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Also, 17 states and the district restrict or ban cell phone use by novice drivers.

Council officials acknowledged a total ban could take years.

"Public awareness and the laws haven't caught up with what the scientists are telling us," Froetscher said. "There is no dispute that driving while talking on your cell phone, or texting while driving, is dangerous."

Froetscher said the council examined more than 50 scientific studies before reaching its decision. One was a study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis that estimates 6 percent of vehicle crashes, causing about 2,600 deaths and 12,000 serious injuries a year, are attributable to cell phone use. Hands-free cell phones are just as risky as hand held phones, she added.

"It's not just what you're doing with your hands — it's that your head is in the conversation and so your eyes are not on the road," Froetscher said.

80 percent of users talk while driving
John Walls, vice president of CTIA-The Wireless Association, a cell phone trade group, objected to a complete ban. He said there are many instances where the ability to make a phone call while driving helps protect safety.

"We think that you can sensibly and safely use a cell phone to make a brief call," Walls said.

What makes cell phone use distinct from other risky driving behaviors, Froetscher said, is the magnitude — there are 270 million cell phone users in the U.S. and 80 percent of them talk on the phone while driving.

Froetscher said the council is the first major national safety group to call for a total cell phone ban for drivers. The National Transportation Safety Board has been urging states since 2003 to ban the use of cell phones or any wireless device by inexperienced drivers who have learner's permits or intermediate licenses. Last year, at least 23 states considered some form of legislation to restrict the use of cell phones or wireless devices, according to the board.

Council officials said they will press Congress to address the issue when it takes up a highway construction bill this year, possibly by offering incentives to states that enact cell phone laws.

The Governors Highway Safety Association agreed that cell phone use while driving is dangerous, but said it would be difficult to enforce a ban. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is funded by auto insurers, said banning all cell phone use "makes sense based on the research," but agreed that enforcement will be difficult.
 
I know this riles a lot of people, but I have no problem with it. It's definitely dangerous; people also use blackberry's when driving, which is ridiculous.
 
This is like a "no duh" moment for me.

You are driving down the road watching some idiot swerving and going 10 MPH slower than everybody else on the road. As you finally pass the dink you can see him with a hand to his ear holding a conversation, oblivious to the havoc they are wreaking in traffic. These people are a menace to others.
 
It's about time. I get tired of making this analogy but here goes again, anyway. If you have the use of only one arm, whether by illness or injury or other, you are required by law to have special equipment installed in your vehicle to compensate. If you are holding a cellphone against your ear, not only do you have use of only one arm, your vision is obscured on the side you're holding the item and you're even less capable of driving straight, changing lanes (no signalling seems to happen of course), and turning corners. This all is in addition to the great disability afforded by the distraction caused by your conversation.

Before the holidays I heard a commentary that addressed some of the reasons why this is so much more distracting than a conversation with a passenger in your vehicle. Your passengers can see what's going on as you drive and will halt or limit conversation accordingly. The person on the other end of the phone doesn't have that advantage and will continue to talk regardless of what might be happening around the driver (you).

All distractions should be monitored. In Ontario, where I drove for many years, you may not have a drink (soft drink, coffee, water, etc.) in your hand while you're driving. I think you're allowed to sip while stopped at a red light but that's it. No eating either. Makeup application while driving will cost you big, and you'll also lose points on your licence. Enough accumulated points due to infractions and you'll lose your licence.

I've been driving since I was 18. I've never had or caused an accident or had a moving violation ticket. One parking ticket in my entire life. I do talk with passengers but never, and I mean never, take my eyes off the road.
 
Thorn said:
It's about time. I get tired of making this analogy but here goes again, anyway. If you have the use of only one arm, whether by illness or injury or other, you are required by law to have special equipment installed in your vehicle to compensate. If you are holding a cellphone against your ear, not only do you have use of only one arm, your vision is obscured on the side you're holding the item and you're even less capable of driving straight, changing lanes (no signalling seems to happen of course), and turning corners. This all is in addition to the great disability afforded by the distraction caused by your conversation.

Before the holidays I heard a commentary that addressed some of the reasons why this is so much more distracting than a conversation with a passenger in your vehicle. Your passengers can see what's going on as you drive and will halt or limit conversation accordingly. The person on the other end of the phone doesn't have that advantage and will continue to talk regardless of what might be happening around the driver (you).

All distractions should be monitored. In Ontario, where I drove for many years, you may not have a drink (soft drink, coffee, water, etc.) in your hand while you're driving. I think you're allowed to sip while stopped at a red light but that's it. No eating either. Makeup application while driving will cost you big, and you'll also lose points on your licence. Enough accumulated points due to infractions and you'll lose your licence.

I've been driving since I was 18. I've never had or caused an accident or had a moving violation ticket. One parking ticket in my entire life. I do talk with passengers but never, and I mean never, take my eyes off the road.
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Thorn, I agree to an extent. But I think the biggest danger is not the using one hand to hold the phone.

When you are on the phone and driving, you are paying as much or more attention to the phone call as you are the driving. That, in my opinion, is the biggest danger in cell phone use.



I drive as much as some professional truck drivers. My cell phone is my link to my wife, my kids, and the multiple jobsites and offices for the company that employs me. But I make a point of either calling the person back or pulling over when I get calls.

We have all been driving and suddenly realized that we couldn't remember the last 15 or 30 minutes of the drive. And that is without a conversation with another person.



Smokers hold a cigarette in one hand. I haven't seen a study that showed smokers were a particular danger in their driving. (and I have read more safety studies than I can count)





This would be a good thing to make into law.
 
I think if someone is swerving and acting like an idiot, you fine them extra for using the cell phone. Enforcing it to a point where you fine everyone though, I think would be a little too far. I tend to use the cell phone on the road every once in a while, but I'm on the road 2-3 hours a day and occassionally would like to call my wife and ask if I need to pick something up for her. The worst offenders are texters, and there really is no way to enforce a rule to ban that.
 
Solitary said:
Thorn, I agree to an extent. But I think the biggest danger is not the using one hand to hold the phone.

When you are on the phone and driving, you are paying as much or more attention to the phone call as you are the driving. That, in my opinion, is the biggest danger in cell phone use.

I drive as much as some professional truck drivers. My cell phone is my link to my wife, my kids, and the multiple jobsites and offices for the company that employs me. But I make a point of either calling the person back or pulling over when I get calls.

We have all been driving and suddenly realized that we couldn't remember the last 15 or 30 minutes of the drive. And that is without a conversation with another person.

Smokers hold a cigarette in one hand. I haven't seen a study that showed smokers were a particular danger in their driving. (and I have read more safety studies than I can count)

This would be a good thing to make into law.
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I'm sorry, I meant to be more clear about that. The distraction definitely is the most dangerous part of cell phone use while driving. A plethora of research has verified what common sense tells most of us about that. There apparently is no significant difference in the dangerousness between handheld and hands-free sets.

I applaud your practice of pulling over. Would that everyone would do that, plus do as one man ahead of me in a supermarket line did when his phone sounded and he answered only to say "I'll call you back" (but that's for another thread).

We can find ourselves thinking about something else and sort of go on automatic, but somehow respond appropriately if something changes in our driving environment. The only time I consciously recall being snapped back (and sort of scared by realizing that I'd driven about 100 miles without recalling a thing) was when I rounded a curve on the highway on my way to Montreal when my Dad died, and I realized that I didn't remember a thing after getting onto the highway.

Only if the smokers are taking attention from the road are they a danger. A cigarette doesn't take up nearly as much room as a phone, and you're not holding it up to your ear and obscuring vision as you are with a cell phone. Also you still can steer with a cig held between two fingers. (Gee, can you tell I am an ex-smoker?) Smoking becomes automatic and doesn't interfere with your concentration or alertness. Unless you drop the damn thing in your lap or on the floor and try to look for it.

I've often wondered how many people would drop their cell phones to deal with something that required their full and immediate reactions. Sadly, far too few, I think.

I agree, this is a law that urgently needs to be enacted.
 
Good! This is one law I'm all for. It is not necessary to talk on the phone while your driving. It is, however, extremely dangerous. I don't know how many times I've been cut off by idiots who don't have a clue that they did so because they have a frigging phone up against their ear. Their f'ing grocery list is not nearly as important as my life or the lives of my wife and children.

Get cell phones out of the cars! In fact, I would support a requirement that automobiles be required to come equiped with a jamming device that prevents the usage of the phone while the engine is running.

If you want to talk on the phone while you are in your car then pull over and stop the car damn it.

Immie

PS And reading the paper, putting on makeup, shaving etc should be banned as well.
 
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We have one of these mobile phone bans whilst driving. A driving chatterbox can be landed with a small fine and perhaps endorsements on their driving licences.

It is incredibly difficult to enforce though. You basically have to be caught red handed by a passing member of Her Majesty's Constabulary and they usually have far better things to do, such as drink tea and shoot foreigners.

There are already enough laws to cover cases of 'careless' or 'reckless' driving where phones play some part in causing an accident. That's not to say i'm opposed to the phone ban but the actual effectiveness of the law is somewhat secondary to the broader message being sent out.
 
DigitalDave said:
I think if someone is swerving and acting like an idiot, you fine them extra for using the cell phone. Enforcing it to a point where you fine everyone though, I think would be a little too far. I tend to use the cell phone on the road every once in a while, but I'm on the road 2-3 hours a day and occassionally would like to call my wife and ask if I need to pick something up for her. The worst offenders are texters, and there really is no way to enforce a rule to ban that.
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Technology could do it, just make the text portion turn off when you get in a car.
 
Damocles said:
This is like a "no duh" moment for me.

You are driving down the road watching some idiot swerving and going 10 MPH slower than everybody else on the road. As you finally pass the dink you can see him with a hand to his ear holding a conversation, oblivious to the havoc they are wreaking in traffic. These people are a menace to others.
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or worse... you see them texting
 
charver said:
Banning mobile phones is hardly going to help the bees is it?

How are they supposed to keep in touch with each other without even the most rudimentary text facility?
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OHH Man you Brits!

Bees do a "dance" to tell other bees where the nectar is.
 
I don't really care about this. I feel that the cell phone while driving threat is overblown, but maybe it's just because personally, whenever someone came close to f'ing me up driving, they were either old or scared. You know those scared drivers who have the steering wheel gripped with both hands, and look like they're afraid to turn their heads, so they are laser-focused to what is directly in front of them, making it impossible for them to merge onto a highway so they get to the end of the ramp, slam on the breaks, nearly causing a 5 or 6 car pileup and then just sit there staring straight ahead looking terrified? Those guys.

But I have a headphone so I really don't care. We have a hands-free law here, but you can use your headphone. It's no big deal.
 
Cell phones promote poor planning, bad memory and general confusion.

You do not have to plan a grovery trip, just mkae about 6 calls and have someone check the cupbord or fridge.

You do not have to remember things because someone will just call and remind you.

It is hard to hold a conversation with a group without cell phone interuption.

Electronic leashes.
 
uscitizen said:
Cell phones promote poor planning, bad memory and general confusion.

You do not have to plan a grovery trip, just mkae about 6 calls and have someone check the cupbord or fridge.

You do not have to remember things because someone will just call and remind you.

It is hard to hold a conversation with a group without cell phone interuption.

Electronic leashes.
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Yep. I hate them. Wouldn't have one if I didn't hunt so much....keeps the wife from worrying too much. And don't even get me started on i-pods or similar musical devices. Geesh!
 
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