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National Safety Council Wants All US States to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving

The National Safety Council wants US lawmakers to push for a nationwide ban of all cell phone use while driving. The NSC says that even hands-free devices are a distraction to drivers, who should be focusing all of their attention on the road and in the vehicle and not on a phone or text messaging conversation going on with someone who is elsewhere.

Findings from the University of Utah and the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis support the claim that use of cell phones and their accessories, including handheld devices, can make for distracted driving. The National Transportation Safety Administration is also backing up these findings and plans to push local lawmakers to establish tougher laws on the issue.

In North Carolina, current laws ban cell phone use and text messaging by teen drivers younger than 18, as well as bus drivers. Now, North Carolina Representative Nelson Dollar says the state should consider banning text messaging while driving.

According to the National Institute of Health, 636,000 auto crashes resulting in 2,600 deaths happen every year because people were talking or texting on a cell phone or another PDA device while driving. 330,000 other victims were injured, with 12,000 of them sustaining serious injuries. The costs incurred by such accidents is over $43 billion annually.

The NSC says that in addition to pushing tougher legislation, it will offer more education and materials about the dangers of driving while using a cell phone.

Distracted Driving
The NHTSA says that driver inattention is the cause of 80% of all auto crashes. According to the NSC?s Cell Phone Use While Driving Fact Sheet:

? The chances of a motorist becoming involved in an auto accident increases by four times whenever he or she is driving while talking on a cell phone.

? Over 100 million people drive and use their cell phones at the same time.

? It is safer to talk to someone who is in your vehicle with you than it is to talk to someone on your cell phone.

N.C. lawmakers could consider texting-while-driving ban, WRAL.com, January 2, 2009

National Safety Council Calls for Nationwide Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving, NSC.org, January 12, 2009

Cell Phone Use While Driving Fact Sheet, NSC.org

Related Web Resource:
Cellphone laws, IIHS.org

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on January 23, 2009 (boomark / email).