| Driver distraction is a major cause of accidents. | | | | crashes and near crashes were recorded. Pictures |
| Which is why 29 states and the District of | | | | show drivers falling asleep, eating while driving, |
| Columbia have passed laws restricting cell phone | | | | applying make-up, reading newspapers or maps, |
| use to use with a hands-free device (no | | | | and others getting into accidents due to talking on |
| jurisdiction has an outright ban). New Jersey and | | | | the cell phone or sending text messages. In all, |
| Washington state have been the only states ones | | | | more than 7,000 crashes and near crashes were |
| to ban text messaging, though 21 states are | | | | recorded. |
| considering such bills this year. | | | | A January 2007 survey by the auto insurer |
| Why the legislative trend? | | | | Nationwide found that 19 percent of motorists |
| In 2006, nearly half of the 3,580 phone-related | | | | say they text message while driving. |
| crashes in New Jersey involved a cellular phone. | | | | Driver distraction contributes to as many as half |
| Forty-five percent of fatal accidents that year | | | | of car accidents says AAA. And drivers talking |
| also involved a hands-free device. | | | | with a hands-free device are still distracted by the |
| That same year over 350 drivers were reported | | | | conversation, and they still have to use their |
| to be distracted by cell phones when involved in | | | | hands to dial or pick up a call. |
| accidents on Florida roadways. | | | | Ford Motor Company research shows that teens |
| But don't feel think that using a hands-free device | | | | are four times more distracted than adults by cell |
| with your cell phone is enough to reduce your | | | | phone use when driving. In fact, the National |
| chance of being in an accident. Carnegie Mellon | | | | Transportation Safety Board listed prohibiting |
| University researchers say you're still likely going | | | | teens from driving with cell phones as one of its |
| to be distracted. The researchers used brain | | | | "Most Wanted" Highway Safety Improvements |
| imaging to show that even just listening to a cell | | | | Federal Issues. |
| phone while driving cuts by more than a third of | | | | A survey conducted by the Liberty Mutual |
| your attention to driving. | | | | Research Institute for Safety and Students |
| And, other research, from the University of Utah, | | | | Against Destructive Decisions showed that teens |
| has shown that cell phone wielding drivers actually | | | | considered sending text messages via cell phones |
| tend to drive more slowly and can create traffic | | | | to be their biggest distraction while driving. |
| jams. | | | | A 2006 study conducted by the Virginia Tech |
| But are cell phones the only cause of driver | | | | Transportation Institute and the National Highway |
| distraction? A recent study by Virginia Tech | | | | Traffic Safety Administration found that almost |
| University and the National Highway Safety | | | | 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of |
| Administration recorded the results of more than | | | | near-crashes involved some form of driver |
| 100 distracted drivers. In all, more than 7,000 | | | | inattention within three seconds of the event. |