Cell Phones, Texting and Driving: A Dangerous Mix

Posted by Minnesota Lawyer Fred Pritzker on Feb 3, 2009 in Accident | 0 comments

A few weeks ago, The National Safety Council (NSC) called for a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving. Specifically, it requested all motorists to stop using cell phones and messaging devices while driving, urged businesses to enact policies prohibiting such use and called for the passage of laws in all states and the District of Columbia banning the behavior.

There is no shortage of data supporting the need for this action. According to the NSC:

• Using cell phones while driving is a very high risk behavior with significant impact on crashes and society. More than 50 peer-reviewed scientific studies have identified the risks associated with cell phone use while driving.
• Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a crash while using a cell phone. (1997 New England Journal of Medicine examination of hospital records and 2005 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study linking crashes to cell phone records).
• There is no difference in the cognitive distraction between hand-held and hands-free devices. (Simulator studies at the U. of Utah.)
• Cell phone use contributes to an estimated 6 percent of all crashes, which equates to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths each year. (Harvard Center of Risk Analysis).
• 80 percent of crashes are related to driver inattention. There are certain activities that may be more dangerous than talking on a cell phone. However, cell phone use occurs more frequently and for longer durations than other, riskier behaviors. Thus, the #1 source of driver inattention is cell phones. (Virginia Tech 100-car study for NHTSA).
• It is estimated that more than 100 million people use cell phones while driving. (CTIA – The Wireless Association reports 270 million cell phone subscribers. A Nationwide Insurance public opinion poll showed 81 percent of the public admit to talking on a cell phone while driving).
• The annual cost of crashes caused by cell phone use is estimated to be $43 billion (Harvard Center for Risk Analysis).
• Talking to a passenger while driving is significantly safer than talking on a cell phone. (University of Utah).
• Many businesses understand the risk and are already taking action. Among NSC members that responded to a survey, 45 percent (651 of 1453 respondents) said their companies had a cell phone policy of some kind. Of those, 22 percent said they re-engineered their processes to accommodate the policy and 85 percent said the policy did not affect productivity.

The NSC is not alone. Nationwide, a large automobile insurer, is also advocating for change. According to its recent fact sheet:

• Distraction from cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands free) extends a driver’s reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08% (University of Utah).
• The No.1 source of driver inattention is use of a wireless device (Virginia Tech /NHTSA).
• Drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves (NHTSA, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety).
• 10% of drivers aged 16 to 24 years old are on their phone at any one time.
• Driving while distracted is a factor in 25% of police reported crashes.
• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. (Carnegie Mellon).

One need not be a safety expert to realize the danger associated with drivers distracted by cell phones and texting. Even a short trip on a metropolitan freeway reveals the perils of such behavior. What utility there is in such devices is outweighed by a hundredfold when measured by the death and devastation resulting from but one crash caused by a distracted driver.

As personal injury lawyers, we see the harms and losses resulting from unsafe cell phone use and texting. Many of our most seriously injured clients owe their lifetime of disability to a crash that would not have occurred but for this behavior.

We understand cell phone driving bans are controversial and should be carefully considered. We also understand, however, that the death and destruction from the use of these devices while driving continues to escalate.

Minnesota is one of the states that has put some restrictions on cell phone use while driving.  Minnesota Statutes, Section 169.443, subdivision 9, was amended to read that a school bus driver may not operate a school bus while communicating over, or otherwise operating a cellular phone for personal reasons when the vehicle is in motion. This restriction applies whether the style of the cell phone is hand held or hands free. This also includes texting.

Minnesota Statutes, Section 171.05 and 171.055 states that provisional license holders and instruction permit holders who are under the age of 18 may not use cell phones when driving.

Although most Minnesota drivers may communicate on cell phones while driving, other communication with “wireless communication devices” is prohibited under Minnesota Statutes, Section 169.475: