Law
Distracted Driving: Cellphones and Text Messaging Research and Legislation
Christopher Davis asked: Driver distraction is a major cause of accidents. Which is why 29 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws restricting cell phone use to use with a hands-free device (no jurisdiction has an outright ban). New Jersey and Washington state have been the only states ones to ban text messaging, though 21 states are considering such bills this year.Why the legislative trend?In 2006, nearly half of the 3,580 phone-related crashes in New Jersey involved a cellular phone. Forty-five percent of fatal accidents that year also involved a hands-free device.That same year over 350 drivers were reported to be distracted by cell phones when involved in accidents on Florida roadways.But don’t feel think that using a hands-free device with your cell phone is enough to reduce your chance of being in an accident. Carnegie Mellon University researchers say you’re still likely going to be distracted. The researchers used brain imaging to show that even just listening to a cell phone while driving cuts by more than a third of your attention to driving.And, other research, from the University of Utah, has shown that cell phone wielding drivers actually tend to drive more slowly and can create [...]
