Lethalfind
New member
http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/cellphones/
This was the first article I ran across on this subject
Insurance Information Institute.
"A study released in April 2006 found that almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event. The study, The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study, conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), breaks new ground. (Earlier research found that driver inattention was responsible for 25 to 30 percent of crashes.) The new study found that the most common distraction is the use of cell phones, followed by drowsiness. However, cell-phone use is far less likely to be the cause of a crash or near-miss than other distractions, according to the study. For example, while reaching for a moving object such as a falling cup increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times, talking or listening on a hand-held cell phone only increased the risk by 1.3 times. The study tracked the behavior of the 241 drivers of 100 vehicles for more than one year. The drivers were involved in 82 crashes, 761 near crashes and 8,295 critical incidents."
These findings confirm an August 2003 report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that concluded that drivers are far less distracted by their cell phones than by other common activities, such as reaching for items on the seat or glove compartment or talking to passengers. That study was based on the analysis of videotapes from cameras installed in the vehicles of 70 drivers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
This article goes on to say that while cell phones are a distraction, they give stats about accidents that were caused by distraction, it doesn't say that hand held cell phones are the leading cause. Dealing with unruly children is higher on the list then cell phones. While I haven't found the information yet about what states laws say what, all the ones mentioned in this article say the ban is on hand held cell phones, NOT on using a cell phone with an earpeice.
http://www.cellular-news.com/car_bans/
This site has a list of countries and the states, it says that 4 out of 50 have bans but does not go into if the states bans their use altogether or just without the use of a headset.
Harvard has even gotten involved
"The study notes that the cost of banning cell phone use while driving is about $700,000 for each quality-adjusted life year saved. That is 30 times more expensive than achieving the same public health benefit with driver airbags, and ten times more expensive than achieving that benefit by keeping the speed limit on interstate highways at 55 instead of 65 MPH."
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/pdf/cellphones.pdf
This was the first article I ran across on this subject
Insurance Information Institute.
"A study released in April 2006 found that almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event. The study, The 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study, conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), breaks new ground. (Earlier research found that driver inattention was responsible for 25 to 30 percent of crashes.) The new study found that the most common distraction is the use of cell phones, followed by drowsiness. However, cell-phone use is far less likely to be the cause of a crash or near-miss than other distractions, according to the study. For example, while reaching for a moving object such as a falling cup increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times, talking or listening on a hand-held cell phone only increased the risk by 1.3 times. The study tracked the behavior of the 241 drivers of 100 vehicles for more than one year. The drivers were involved in 82 crashes, 761 near crashes and 8,295 critical incidents."
These findings confirm an August 2003 report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that concluded that drivers are far less distracted by their cell phones than by other common activities, such as reaching for items on the seat or glove compartment or talking to passengers. That study was based on the analysis of videotapes from cameras installed in the vehicles of 70 drivers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
This article goes on to say that while cell phones are a distraction, they give stats about accidents that were caused by distraction, it doesn't say that hand held cell phones are the leading cause. Dealing with unruly children is higher on the list then cell phones. While I haven't found the information yet about what states laws say what, all the ones mentioned in this article say the ban is on hand held cell phones, NOT on using a cell phone with an earpeice.
http://www.cellular-news.com/car_bans/
This site has a list of countries and the states, it says that 4 out of 50 have bans but does not go into if the states bans their use altogether or just without the use of a headset.
Harvard has even gotten involved
"The study notes that the cost of banning cell phone use while driving is about $700,000 for each quality-adjusted life year saved. That is 30 times more expensive than achieving the same public health benefit with driver airbags, and ten times more expensive than achieving that benefit by keeping the speed limit on interstate highways at 55 instead of 65 MPH."
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/pdf/cellphones.pdf
