National Safety Council: 28% of Car Accidents Caused By Cellphone Use!

28 percent of accidents involve talking, texting on cellphones
By Ashley Halsey III
Washington Post Staff Writer
January 13, 2010

Twenty-eight percent of traffic accidents occur when people talk on cellphones or send text messages while driving, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Safety Council.

The vast majority of those crashes, 1.4 million annually, are caused by cellphone conversations, and 200,000 are blamed on text messaging, according to the report from the council, a nonprofit group recognized by congressional charter as a leader on safety.

Because of the extent of the problem, federal transportation officials unveiled a organization Tuesday, patterned after Mothers Against Drunk Driving, that will combat driver cellphone use. The group, FocusDriven, grew out of a meeting on distracted driving sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation in the District last year.

Virtually everyone owns a cellphone, and it's evident to anyone who drives regularly that huge numbers of people, including some who support a ban, use them while driving. Persuading people to break that habit could be a tall order for FocusDriven.

"It's hard because everyone's addicted to their cellphone," said FocusDriven's president, Jennifer Smith, a Texan whose mother was killed by a man who ran a red light while talking on his cellphone. "That's where we come in. We put a real, human face to it. We're going to put the pressure on legislatures."

Enforcement of a texting ban requires officers to observe an act that usually is conducted in a driver's lap, and hands-free devices make it possible to talk on cellphones without being observed. More than 120 studies of cellphone use suggest that using hands-free devices doesn't eliminate the distraction caused by a phone conversation.

Read the full article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011202218.html

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For Immediate Release,
1/12/2010
Contact:
Amy Williams
Communications Director
(630)775-2307
amy.williams@nsc.org

National Safety Council Estimates that At Least 1.6 Million Crashes are Caused Each Year by Drivers Using Cell Phones and Texting
Washington, DC – The National Safety Council announced today that it estimates at least 28% of all traffic crashes – or at least 1.6 million crashes each year – are caused by drivers using cell phones and texting. NSC estimates that 1.4 million crashes each year are caused by drivers using cell phones and a minimum of 200,000 additional crashes each year are caused by drivers who are texting. The announcement came on the one-year anniversary of NSC’s call for a ban on all cell phone use and texting while driving.

“We now know that at least 1.6 million crashes are caused by drivers using cell phones and texting," said Janet Froetscher, president & CEO of the National Safety Council. "We know that cell phone use is a very risky distraction and texting is even higher risk. We now know that cell phone use causes many more crashes than texting. The main reason is that millions more drivers use cell phones than text," she said. "That is why we need to address both texting and cell phone use on our roads."

"This new estimate provides critical data for legislators, business leaders and individuals to evaluate the threat and need for legislation, business policies and personal actions to prevent cell phone use and texting while driving," Froetscher said. "There was great progress made in 2009, particularly regarding a broad recognition that texting is dangerous. We now need the same broad consensus that recognizes cell phone use while driving causes even more crashes.”

Froetscher said public support for laws banning cell phone use while driving is gaining momentum.

"Public opinion research conducted in 2009 by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and Nationwide Insurance show public support for total bans on cell phones at 43 and 57 percent respectively," Froetscher said. "With public support now around 50 percent, we will continue to educate people about the risks of cell phone use while driving and the value of effectively-enforced laws in changing behavior and reducing crashes.”

In constructing its estimates, NSC used widely-accepted statistical methods and analysis based on data of driver cell phone use from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and from peer-reviewed research that quantifies the risk of using a cell phone and texting while driving. NSC's statistical model and estimates were peer-reviewed by academic researchers in traffic safety and biostatistics.

The estimate of 25% of all crashes -- or 1.4 million crashes -- caused by cell phone use was derived from NHTSA data showing 11% of drivers at any one time are using cell phones and from peer-reviewed research reporting cell phone use increases crash risk by four times. The estimate of an additional minimum 3% of crashes -- or 200,000 crashes -- caused by texting was derived by NHTSA data showing 1% of drivers at any one time are manipulating their device in ways that include texting and from research reporting texting increases crash risk by 8 times. Using the highest risk for texting reported by research of 23 times results in a maximum of 1 million crashes due to texting; still less than the 1.4 million crashes caused by other cell phone use.

http://www.nsc.org/Pages/NSCestimates16millioncrashescausedbydriversusingcellphonesandtexting.aspx

never mind the godforsaken I-17 at rush hour.

Good for the NSC.

In time, it'll all even out.

They deserve the same scrutiny and punishment as a DUI in my opinion

If this were the case then you would expect to have seen an increase in the rate of accidents since the advent of cell phones - but as I understand it our roads are getting safer, the rate of accidents per mile driven has been decreasing since the 50's, hasn't it?

I'm not questioning why the accident or injury rate is going down, I'm just saying that if the overall rate is going down its difficult to say that a new device now contributes or is causal for about a third of the accidents because if that were true you would have seen a big spike in the rate when phones became commonly available - say in the last 10 years. But I am told that exactly the opposite is what is happening. See what I mean? You can not at one time say things are getting much worse but overall improving at the same time.

Just one of the reasons I metaphorically roll my eyes every time I hear or read of someone who states with absolute confidence how good, how safe, and how aware they are when they themselves are driving and talking on the cell phone simultaneously.

I imagine the vast majority of those 1.4 million other drivers thought the precise same thing about themselves...

It is americans being american and until we can overhaul our priorities, it isn't going to change anytime soon. In our shortsighted, capitalist country we are specifically taught to behave from a place of self-interest with disregard to the well-being of those around us.

I see it everyday I'm on the road.

And many cell phone users actually look at their phones while they are driving! Are they trying to see the person they are talking to?

you can attribute a lot of changes in society's activities to changes in people's attitudes - you'd think that would be obvious to anyone, but apparently not.

"More than 120 studies of cellphone use suggest that using hands-free devices doesn't eliminate the distraction caused by a phone conversation."


There's a ban on using cell phones without a blue tooth device here in CT, as well as a law that bans texting while driving. But there's still so many people who talk and text while driving. Some of the cops I have talked to said it's not worth pulling people over for this when there's better crime to tackle.

And let cell phones users see and/or hear about other motorists paying a $500 fine for first offense, $1,000 fine for second and suspension plus $2,000 fine for third offense.

That'll do it!

stupidity with my own premiums.

see the driver in front holding his cell phone on his steering wheel -had to be texting. We were heading into one of those bane of Massachusetts highway systems "The Rotary"!
I feel like I'm playing roulette with my life entering one with my full attention!

Cell phone usage has increased every year since the damn things were invented. If they contributed to 28% of accidents and were the sole factor then it would follow that accidents have increased by 28% over, say, the last ten years and 2008 would be the worst year to date.

According to the NTSB there has been very little fluctuation in the total number of accidents since 1988 with a slight decrease in total accidents in the last 10 years or so. 2008 had the lowest number of accidents since 1988. Considering that there are more cars/drivers on the road it would seem that drivers are safer since cell phones came into use (NTSB doesn't give accident/passenger mile for all accidents).

I'm not talking about fatal or injury accidents which are down drastically due to new improved automobiles and the safety devices they now have, I'm talking about ALL accidents reported by police.

Not saying that talking/texting is a good thing, just that there are other contributing factors that that contribute regardless of cell phone use. Things like changing radio stations, inserting a tape/cd, having a conversation with a passenger or lighting a cigarette must be at least as distracting as talking on the cell phone. If any of these activities were occurring while a cell phone conversation were taking place it seem the phone is being blamed.

Don't take my word for it, check it out yourself: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811170.PDF

edit to add chart

.... and then the idiots look at you like it's your fault the accident almost happened.