The Highway Loss Data Institute, a non-profit organisation funded by the auto insurance industry, compared monthly collision claims in four states that have banned handheld mobile phone use before and after the bans took effect.

Research for the study, published last Friday, was collected in New York, Washington DC, Connecticut and California. Data was also collected and evaluated from nearby states that do not have such bans, for the sake of comparison. The Highway Loss Data Institute's research indicates that car collision rates didn't change after bans went into effect — and they didn't change for nearby states without such bans, either.

That said, the laws banning handheld phone usage have been effective in getting people to use hands-free devices for driving, the study suggests. But there is no indication that hands-free devices have reduced the number of car accidents that occur.

"Hands-free device are no less risky than using a handheld phone," said Russ Rader, spokesperson for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which sponsored the study. "And this indicates that the issue is really about the distracted driver. It's much bigger than drivers using mobile phones."

In other words, it's the distraction — and not a mobile phone, per se — that causes accidents. Tuning the radio, selecting a song on an iPod, programming a GPS navigation system, eating some hot chips or turning around to scream at the kids — all done while behind the wheel of a car — are things that distract drivers and could potentially cause collisions.

"People have been driving distracted since cars were invented," Rader said. "Focusing on mobile phones isn't the same as focusing on distracted driving. Distraction is what has always caused car crashes and mobile phones don't appear to be adding to that."

Indeed, Rader said the study also indicates that even though mobile phone usage in the US has exploded over the past several years and that more than 89 per cent of the US population owns a mobile phone, there has been no uptick nationally in the number of car accidents.

Mobile Phone News :- http://www.cnet.com.au

<< Back to news...