1.http://www.statefarm.com/learning/be_safe/road/learning_besafe_ontheroad_cell.asp
Cell phone users were four to five times more likely to have crashes than non-users.
Cell phone units that allow the hands to be free offer no safety advantage over hand-held units.
2. As a former State Officer dealing with anywhere from one to three crashes a day:
a. In 2000, the State included these questions on the Collision Reporting Form..
1. Was there a cell phone in the car?
2. Was the Cell phone in use?
(Better not lie on this one. Plaintiff's attorneys subpoena your phone records--which have a time-stamp)
3. The issue becomes one of "Greater Negligence", both criminally and civilly.
If you kill someone due to your total attention being on a phone conversation, that puts you somewhere between manslaughter and 2nd degree murder.
If your car was broadsided by someone pulling out, and usually you would not be at fault, the issue now is "Were you so engaged that you missed a chance to avoid a collision?" Attorneys like to make "Contributorily negligent".
Please tell me that there is a way to discover if a lie to question #1 makes question #2 irrelevant.
My gut feeling is that 99% of the idiots using cell phones and involved in an accident will attempt to lie about owning any cell phones.
I never worry because I always have a cell phone while driving, but it is always off unless there is an emergency to deal with (grass fire, drunk or tired truck drivers, accident, etc.).