The Dangers of Talking on a Cell Phone While Driving 6/2010
As of December 2005 in the United States, over 200 million people use cell phones. This compares with approximately 4.3 million in 1990, according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. Increased reliance on cell phones has led to a rise in the number of people who use the devices while driving. There are two dangers associated with driving and cell phone use.
- Drivers must take their eyes off the road while dialing.
- People can become so absorbed in their conversations that their ability to concentrate on the act of driving is impaired equal to that of a legally drunk driver.
Recent Studies
Motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, according to a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
A government study released in June 2005 indicates that the distraction of cell phones and other wireless devices was far more likely to lead to crashes than other distractions faced by drivers. Researchers for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tracked 100 cars and their drivers for a year and concluded that talking on cell phones caused far more crashes, near-crashes and other incidents than any other distractions.
Safety experts acknowledge that the hazard posed by cell phone conversations is not eliminated, and may even be increased, by the use of hands-free sets.
A September 2004 study from the NHTSA found that drivers using hand-free cell phones had to redial calls 40 percent of the time, compared with 18 percent for drivers using hand held sets, suggesting that hands free sets may provide drivers with a false sense of ease.
A study from the University of Utah published in the winter 2004/2005 issue of Human Factors, found that motorists who talked on hands-free cell phones were 18 percent slower in braking and took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked. This is a similar reaction time found in those driving while legally intoxicated. An earlier University of Utah study by the same researchers found that drivers talking on hands-free cell phones were less likely to recall seeing pedestrians, billboards or other roadside features.
Cell phones play an integral role in our society. However, the convenience they offer must be judged against the hazards they pose. Inattentive driving accounted for 6.4 percent of crash fatalities in 2003 according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Inattentive driving includes talking, eating, putting on make up and attending to children. Using cell phones and other wireless or electronic units are also considered distractions. In mid-October 2004 in the case of Yoon v. Wagner, a Virginia jury awarded $2 million in damages to the family of a young girl who was killed by a driver using a cell phone at the time of the accident.
As many as 40 countries restrict or prohibit the use of cell phones while driving.
Employer Liability:
Although only a handful of high-profile cases have gone to court, employers are still concerned that they might be held liable for accidents caused by their employees while driving and conducting work-related conversations on cell phones. Under the doctrine of vicarious responsibility, employers may be held legally accountable for the negligent acts of employees committed in the course of employment. Employers may also be found negligent if they fail to put in place a policy for the safe use of cell phones. In response, many companies have established cell phone usage policies. Some allow employees to conduct business over the phone as long as they pull over to the side of the road or into a parking lot. Others have completely banned the use of all wireless devices.
This Information was taken from: © Insurance Information Institute, Inc. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Jan 2006. To view the study in its entirety or for more information, visit the Insurance Information Institute web site. Go to: http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/cellphones/