The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association reported that 15 years ago approximately four million people owned wireless communication devices, such as cell phones. Since then, that number has increased to almost to 225 million.
With increased dependence on mobile phones, the number of people using such devices while driving has, of course, substantially increased. There are predominately two dangers associated with cell phones and driving: drivers must take their eyes off the road to dial, and people become so absorbed in their conversations that they do not concentrate on their driving.
One study from the journal of Human Factors suggested that , “If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, his or her reaction time is the same as a 70-year-old, senior citizen who is not using a cell phone.” Cell phone related accidents cause approximately 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year, according to the journal’s publisher.
Drivers using cell phones are 18 percent slower to react to other’s brake lights, and inadvertently keep a 12 percent greater following distance. But they also take 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lose when they slow down. Further, once drivers on cell phones hit the brakes, it takes them longer to get back into the normal flow of traffic. The net result is that they are impeding the overall flow of traffic.
Over 60 percent of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those also admit to text messaging behind the wheel. Despite the risks, a majority of teen drivers ignore cell phone driving restrictions. In 2007 driver distractions, such as talking on a cell phone or texting, contributed to nearly 1,000 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers.
Each year, it is estimated that 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 are the result of cell phone usage. This result is expected to increase as much as 4% every year. Studies have reported that drivers talking on cell phones are less adept than drunk drivers with a blood alcohol level of .08. The cell phone users’ impaired reactions involve seconds ( not just fractions of seconds), so stopping distance increases by car lengths, not just feet.
Between 2003 and 2006, car accidents from cell phone use have led to 50 deaths in Pennsylvania. According to PennDOT, from 2002 to 2006 there were 5,715 car accidents linked to the use of handheld cell phones.
Pennsylvania has no statewide law prohibiting talking on cell phones or sending text messages while driving. However, due to the growing body of evidence that shows the connection between cell phone use and car wrecks, a change in the law is expected soon.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll, Pennsylvania voters support a ban on handheld cell phone use by 85 to 13 percent. Even cell phone users who comprise 79 percent of voters, support the ban.
Recently, Philadelphia finally took steps to correct the problem. A new law effective November 19, 2009 prohibits talking, dialing or texting on a handheld device while driving a motor vehicle. It also prohibits these activities while on a bicycle, scooter, in-line skates or skateboard.
P.S.
On the same day this Bill was signed into law, Philadelphia police reported that a driver talking on a cell phone ran a red light, causing a city bus to run into several parked cars and a steel beam. Sixteen people, including a young child, were injured in the accident.
