Cell Phones and Driving
Cell Phones and Driving
One of the most popular innovations in automotive travel in the past decade has nothing to do with the automobile itself, the people who drive them, or the roads over which they operate. Rather, it is the ability to carry on telephone conversations while driving. A major concern for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is that drivers are being distracted by cell phone usage and about 85 percent of the nation 's cell phone subscribers use them while driving (Glazer). What CB radios were to the '70s, cellular phones were to the '80s. From early 1984, when the first complete systems became operational, the number of cellular phone users had grown to over two million. By the mid '90s, when cellular service was available throughout most population centers in the United States, the number of subscribers was expected to grow to between ten and twenty million. Today, the number of subscribers is nearly 300 million in the United States. While cellular phones are really elements of communication rather than transportation, their potential impact upon the latter is sizable. The prospect of 300 million drivers having the opportunity to place, receive, or handle a telephone calls while driving is not something easily ignored. A growing body of research suggests that using a mobile telephone while driving increases a driver’s risk of being involved in a crash. Studies that have analyzed the cell phone records of crash-involved drivers have reported that using a cell phone while driving is associated with roughly a quadrupling of crash risk. Studies using driving simulators have also found that cell phone use significantly impairs several aspects of driving performance, principally reaction time. Studies comparing the risks associated with using hand-held and hands-free cell phones while driving have found them indistinguishable, both having increased risk. Meanwhile, available
One of the most popular innovations in automotive travel in the past decade has nothing to do with the automobile itself, the people who drive them, or the roads over which they operate. Rather, it is the ability to carry on telephone conversations while driving. A major concern for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is that drivers are being distracted by cell phone usage and about 85 percent of the nation 's cell phone subscribers use them while driving (Glazer). What CB radios were to the '70s, cellular phones were to the '80s. From early 1984, when the first complete systems became operational, the number of cellular phone users had grown to over two million. By the mid '90s, when cellular service was available throughout most population centers in the United States, the number of subscribers was expected to grow to between ten and twenty million. Today, the number of subscribers is nearly 300 million in the United States. While cellular phones are really elements of communication rather than transportation, their potential impact upon the latter is sizable. The prospect of 300 million drivers having the opportunity to place, receive, or handle a telephone calls while driving is not something easily ignored. A growing body of research suggests that using a mobile telephone while driving increases a driver’s risk of being involved in a crash. Studies that have analyzed the cell phone records of crash-involved drivers have reported that using a cell phone while driving is associated with roughly a quadrupling of crash risk. Studies using driving simulators have also found that cell phone use significantly impairs several aspects of driving performance, principally reaction time. Studies comparing the risks associated with using hand-held and hands-free cell phones while driving have found them indistinguishable, both having increased risk. Meanwhile, available