Cell Phone Plans

Cell Phones and Driving Don't Mix

July 13, 2005

A recent cell phone study shows that using a cell phone while driving increase the chances of getting into a serious car accident by four times. This includes driving while using a hands free device. The study was conducted in Western Australia.

Besides this study, there is no statistical information to prove that driving with a hand held or hands free is safe. According to the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, restricting wireless use to hands free only gives a false sense of security. They wonder if it would be better to ban all cell phone use while behind the wheel.

"What this research will do is add to the body of evidence that both hands free and hand held phones pose a risk while driving. The bottom line is that people should not be talking on cell phones while they're driving. They should not be talking on cell phones of any kind while they're driving," stated Russ Rader, a spokesman for the institute, which is funded by auto insurers.

The Wireless Association feels that all driving distractions should be monitored before banning cell phone use in the car. "We've always said it can be a potential distraction," said John Walls, a spokesman for CTIA The Wireless Association, the trade association representing such wireless carriers as Cingular and Verizon as well as phone makers and other industry-related companies.

He continued by stating, "To address the issue of distracted driving, you really should look at the totality of the issue and not just look at one behavior because a lot of people do it. If someone wants to go to that degree, at the same time, we'd have to look at banning all those distractive behaviors, to be fair. Let's look at banning drive-through restaurants. Let's look at banning radios."

The Governor's Highway Safety Association has a similar view as the Insurance Institute. They feel that allowing hands free devices in the car sends the message that hands free devices are safe. The association also feels that there should be an element for driver distraction on motor vehicle crash report forms, to be completed by a police officer so that distractions can be monitored and further studied.

"Drivers need to be reminded that driving is a very complex task requiring full attention," the association stated in a news release. They also feel that educating drivers about how to manage distractions would be very important.

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