Research on hands-free versus hand-held cell phone use while driving is contradictory, but findings indicate that it could be more dangerous than drinking and driving. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, call a San Diego Personal Injury Lawyer today at 619.677.1641 for a free consultation.
In a nation resistant to mounting evidence that gabbing on cell phones while driving is deadly, bans on hand-held cell phones are often introduced as stop-gap measures. Such was the case in California, where a hands-free law took effect on July 1, 2008.
But hands-free laws may be illusory, with a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) concluding that the California law had no measurable impact on crash incidence in that state.
HLDI compared the number of monthly collision claims per 100 insured vehicle years for vehicles up to 3 years old, over a several-month span capturing the time just before and just after passage of the California hands-free law. HLDI used the same methodology to weigh the effect of similar laws in New York, Connecticut and Washington, D.C.
The study did not directly evaluate the impact of cell phone use because the insurance reports did not indicate whether or not drivers engaged in phone conversation during the crash. Instead HLDI relied upon other studies concluding that driver use of cell phones decreases substantially after hand-held laws take effect.
A recent study by the University of Illinois focusing on New York's hands-free cell phone law reached the opposite conclusion, observing reductions in fatalities in 46 of 62 counties studied, 10 at a statistically significant level. Differences in study methodology may account for the two studies' opposing conclusions. The Illinois study relied upon public data rather than insurance industry data.
Assuming that the HLDI study results stand the test of time, they may highlight an inherent flaw in hands-free laws. Earlier studies have shown there is no appreciable difference between hand-held and hands-free phones when it comes to crash rates. Those studies concluded that the use of a cell phone while driving—whether hands-free or hand-held—is even more dangerous than drinking and driving.
The primary reason, researchers posit, is that the human brain is incapable of attending to a conversation and the road simultaneously. While in-vehicle conversation may distract the driver, it may not be as likely to cause car crashes due to its countervailing quality of providing a second set of eyes on the road.
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