Chilling Facts on Driving with Cell Phones

In Massachusetts it’s illegal for people under age 18 to use a cell phone while driving, and it’s against the law for everyone to text while on the road.

“Distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic, and we need to work together to stop thousands of unnecessary injuries and deaths every year,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Congress recently. Research on distracted driving reveals some chilling facts:

• 20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 (most recent available data) involved distracted driving.
• The under-20 age group has the largest proportion of distracted drivers.
• Sixteen percent of all drivers younger than 20 who were involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving.
• Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent, according to a University of Utah study.
• No differences were seen in the use of hands-free vs. hand- held cell phones while driving. The conversation itself — not the device — may be the biggest distraction, noted psychology professor Dr. David Strayer and colleagues reported in the summer 2010 edition of the journal, Human Factors.

Some cell phone companies are preparing new technology that prohibits cell phone activity while in a moving vehicle; all calls would be forwarded to voice mail. A life saving program for sure, but is it saleable?

• Read all INSURANCE CURRENTS, Fall 2011