Cell Phones Banned
Study: Cell Phones & Collisions
Archives: Road Habits Survey
July 18, 2000
As long as there have been cars, there have been drivers who pay more attention to eating, grooming, or changing the radio station than driving.
But add in hi-tech gadgets like navigation systems, on-board computers and especially cell phones, and the potential for accidents goes way up.
It's a familiar sight on the roadway-- a driver with one hand on the wheel, the other holding a cell phone to his ear.
We see it every day! A lot of us do it every day!
But did you know that driving this way increases your chances of an accident by 400% and that distracted drivers cause 4,000 to 8,000 accidents a day?
Distracted drivers are not a new problem.
But experts say the problem is worse now, because of technology available in
cars -- making the risky business of driving, even riskier.
Bill Johnston/University of Utah Psychology Professor: "WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S DANGEROUS TO BEGIN WITH AND WE'RE JUST POURING FUEL ON IT."
More and more fuel.
The latest survey indicates that 81 million Americans now regularly use cell phones in their cars.
The cell phone industry claims it's not the phone that's the problem -- it's the uneducated driver. It says there are many things that distract drivers.
But researchers at the University of Utah say talking on a cell phone engages the mind more than other distractions.
Bill Johnston/University of Utah Psychology: "TRAFFIC STATISTICS, I'M SURE, WILL BEAR OUT THAT THERE AREN'T THAT MANY ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY PEOPLE EATING A HAMBURGER. BUT THERE IS A LOT OF DATA NOW SUGGESTING THAT MORE ACCIDENTS ARE CAUSED BY CELL PHONES."
And he worries about more and more distractions.
Driven to Distraction
Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
| Phones |
44% |
| E-mail Access |
7% |
| Fax Machines |
3% |
A new highway traffic survey
found that 44% of drivers have phones in their cars,
7% have email access,
and 3% have the ability to send a fax.
Today, witnesses lined up at a federal transportation department hearing, to call for laws to prevent drivers from using cell phones, on-board navigation systsems, and other gadgets while behind the wheel.
The companies that manufacture those gadgets argued at the hearing today that all that is necessary is more education.
Even so, at least four communities across the country have made it illegal to drive and use a handheld phone at the same time. A similar law was proposed a few years ago in the Utah Legislature, but it was not passed into law.
