Personal Injury Law

Cell Phones: INTOXICATION V. IN-TEXT-ICATION - Which is worse?

By Steve Lombardi

The consequences for using your cell phone while driving? None. Zip. Nada. That's right, folks. Never mind the statistics; the equally impairing act is not yet punishable by law.

We ended the previous post with a seemingly bold statement: "Using a cell phone while driving is comparable to driving while intoxicated." Well, folks - make no bones about it, it's true.

It's been under investigation for years, and in June 2006, the University of Utah published a study confirming "people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit."

The correlation exists because it's not the actual cell phone that causes the accident; it's the distraction it presents. And quite a distraction it is. A driver using a cell phone is so preoccupied he's 5.36 times more likely to get in an accident than an undistracted driver. The risk for a drunk driver? Roughly the same.

Seem hard to believe? It shouldn't be. The correlation between using a cell phone while driving and getting in an accident is the inevitable result of 'multitasking'. Whenever we attempt to perform two tasks at once, our performance abilities suffer. It's not to say we're incapable of talking and driving; however, it is to say our abilities are diminished.

Psychologist Steve Yantis (of John Hopkins University) notes listening affects our ability to see clearly because "whenever we turn our listening knobs up, we turn our visual knobs down."

As a result, talking on the cell phone makes you more likely to rear-end the car in front of you by delaying your braking ability by nine percent. In addition, it makes you 19 percent slower to resume a normal speed after braking.

So, how do the consequences for driving while intoxicated and driving while 'in-talk-icated' measure up? Though laws vary state to state, drinking and driving is often punishable with hefty fines, the loss of a license, traffic school, community service, and yes - even jail time.

The consequences for using your cell phone while driving? None. Zip. Nada. That's right, folks. Never mind the statistics; the equally impairing act is not yet punishable by law in most states. Allow us to insert an editorial comment here: "This is a true injustice of the law."

Realistically, it doesn't matter whether you're "intoxicated," "in-talk-icated," or "in-text-icated." It's sort of like comparing an OWI to a DUI; in the end, the acts are essentially one and the same.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on April 11, 2008 (boomark / email).