The National Safety Council recently released a recommendation that all cell phone use in cars be banned. Yes, we’ve all done it and rationalized that our driving was safe. Apparently not. Here are some sobering statistics from the NSC website:

• Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a crash while using a cell phone. (1997 New England Journal of Medicine examination of hospital records and 2005 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study linking crashes to cell phone records).
• There is no difference in the cognitive distraction between hand-held and hands-free devices. (Simulator studies at the U. of Utah.)
• Cell phone use contributes to an estimated 6 percent of all crashes, which equates to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths each year. (Harvard Center of Risk Analysis).
• The annual cost of crashes caused by cell phone use is estimated to be $43 billion (Harvard Center for Risk Analysis)

According to research carried out at the University of Utah, laboratory experiments using simulators, real-world road studies and accident statistics all tell the same story: drivers talking on a cellphone are four times as likely to have an accident as drivers who are not. That’s the same level of risk posed by a driver who is legally drunk.

Why cellphone use behind the wheel is so risky isn’t entirely clear, but studies suggest several factors. No matter what the device, phone conversations appear to take a significant toll on attention and visual processing skills.

It may be that talking on the phone generates mental images that conflict with the spatial processing needed for safe driving. Eye-tracking studies show that while drivers continually look side to side, cellphone users tend to stare straight ahead.

They may also be distracted to the point that their engaged brains no longer process much of the information that falls on their retinas, which leads to slower reaction times and other driving problems.

Whatever the problem is, my phone is staying in my jacket pocket from now on.

Read more at the New York Times.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Mobile phones distract drivers more than passengers
• Safer to Chat with Passenger Than on Cell Phone
• Hands-free kits make drivers even more dangerous