Cell phone users more dangerous than drunk drivers, new study shows

My Grandfather once reported on a ride to Boise from Florida, he honked at a reckless woman making egregious traffic errors on the road. As the woman talked on her cell phone with one hand, she used her other hand to give him the finger. What hand she was using to drive remains a mystery.

It has long been known that distracted driving and driving while asleep are more common and dangerous than drunk driving. Recently, a British study came to light saying that drivers who talk on cell phones have slower reaction times than drivers who are legally drunk.

The study found that nearly 85 percent of cell phone users have talked while driving, and common problems include maintaining a constant speed and tailing the car ahead too closely.

A 1997 study in the New England Journal of Medicine produced similar findings. They found that drivers who use cell phones on the road are four times more likely to get in an accident.

I’ve even heard of a case where a driver talking on a cell phone smashed into the car of a man who turned out to be legally drunk.

Increasingly, states and communities are cracking down on cell phone use while driving, however, other distractions liable to cause accidents include reading the newspaper, applying makeup, shaving or smacking kids while driving.

What I wonder is where is MACPD (Mothers Against Cell Phone Driving) is in all this?

Last month, a smashed up truck was featured on the Quad as part of an educational campaign discouraging drunk driving, and drinking in general. (Was I the only one who noticed the truck had Firestone tires? Maybe the guy was alright to drive after all.)

I can’t help but think there’s a certain sense of staid morality that goes into all these campaigns focusing on only part of the problem behind car accidents.

The National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration reports that in the year 2000, 8 percent of total accidents were caused by alcohol, although alcohol use accounted for 40 percent of all fatal crashes. It was also estimated that 40 percent of drunk drivers involved in crashes were also speeding, another high causation of car crashes.

Clearly educational campaigns about all major causes of crashes could save lives, but cell phone using drivers shouldn’t feel so sanctimonious just because they haven’t imbibed.

Just about everyone I know who owns a cell phone is absolutely fascinated by them. The world stops spinning on its axis as soon as their phone rings. I know some people who stare longingly at their cell phone even when it’s not ringing, as though at any moment they’ll receive a phone call from God’s unlisted number inviting them to join His choir of angels.

Now that there are hands free phone systems available for cars, I think there is clearly the justification and ability to begin at least ticketing phone users on highways, if not banning them outright.

As the bumper sticker says, “Hang up the phone and drive."

Sean C. Hayes

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