Data withheld on dangers of using cell phones while driving

WFAA.com ^ | 07/21/2009 | CYNTHIA VEGA

[devane617]

Driving and using cell phones - we all know the dangers.

But now, new evidence suggests it's not only dangerous, but deadly.

Federal officials have long had the evidence that shows drivers on the roads, who are talking on a cell phone, hands free or not, are running the risk of getting involved in a deadly accident.

Officials recommend talking on a cell phone while driving should only be done in an emergency.

However, this evidence never saw the light of day.

A long-term study the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggested to fully assess the threat was never done.

It was squelched instead; the reason - politics.

Agency officials say they didn't want to anger Congress at the time which reportedly feared offending two groups - a growing number of voters using cell phones behind the wheel and to a lesser extent, the cell phone industry.

Critics say it could be a problem as bad a drunk driving. Hundreds of pages of research remained under wraps for six years.

Critics say such action has cost Americans their lives and allowed a culture of multitasking behind the wheel to blossom, as cell phone use has doubled since then.

Not only that, critics say it could be a problem as bad a drunk driving and it has gone unchecked because of a government cover-up.

Today, due to the Freedom of Information Act, that information is becoming available.

[ronnietherocket2]

Do not criticize the police, they do no wrong.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I am the last one to want to see more government regulation of people’s lives, but I’ve gotta admit, some of the stuff I see going on behind the wheel involving cell phones and texting lately is getting very scary!

[12Gauge687]

Like others here, I’m not crazy about new laws but quite frankly, this kind of driving or, in fact, any really distracted driving, really is dangerous and should be limited somehow.

Like you, I was coming back from a grouse-hunting trip in northern Wisconsin on Interstate 90, when I got behind a Ford Focus going 60 in the passing lane. When I finally got around her, I noticed her texting. Once past, I noted in my sideview mirror that she would occasionally veer into my lane for no apparent reason.

Equally scary was a teenaged guy who was fiddling with his GPS in a strip mall parking lot. He ran into a stall full of shopping carts, missing an older lady by inches (I hope he had insurance to cover her Toyota Sienna tailgate).

[OldBullrider]

From 1975 to 1982 I drove trucks and talked on citizen band radios probably 50% of the drive time. The only accident I had was in January 1979 on US 12 about 30 miles east of Lowell, Idaho. I was not using the radio at that time. I also drove six days out of week. Never had an accident or even a close call because of talking on the radio. But then I can chew gum and walk at the same time, heck I can even blow bubbles if you want.

[houeto]

Please tell me why we need the government to tell us that not paying attention while you are driving JUST MIGHT BE DANGEROUS!!! And withholding this incredibly OBVIOUS BIT OF HASH is THE WORST SIN EVER COMMITTED.

BECAUSE!!!...

.08 BAC=DUI (that's LESS THAN THREE beers for most folks BTW)

Driving while texting/calling (which is probably 10 TIMES MORE DANGEROUS!) etc.=nothing...

unless you are involved in an accident which is occuring at GREATER FREQUENCIES EVERY DAY!

[DemonDeac]

“Critics say it could be a problem as bad a drunk driving.”

I think driving drunk is worse but the problem of cell phone talking is worse because you have many many times more people jabbering on a cell phone than you do driving drunk and that makes jabbering a bigger net threat to me and my family.

[bcsco]

Cell phone use during driving is the bigger issue because of the reasons you state; widespread indulgence. We have far more people on cell phones driving than we do drunks driving. The problem with drunk driving is they are far more erratic and dangerous when nearby due to their lowered physical and mental abilities. With cell phone drivers, those abilities are there, just not used.

[VeniVidiVici]

(I hope he had insurance to cover her Toyota Sienna tailgate).

LOL!

Besides my texting story I was at a tint shop once setting up an appointment. While talking to the owner a call came in from a sales person. After a minute or two he asks her if she's OK then says he'll talk to her later.

Turns out while on the phone with him she rear-ended another car! And the funny part was he told me that was THE SECOND TIME SHE HAD DONE THAT WHILE ON THE PHONE WITH HIM!!

Frankly the cops could pull these idiots over for just, well, being idiots. The problem with that is *I* rarely see cops patrolling anymore. They shoot radar non-stop, but when they do patrol it's to look for drunks or druggies so they pull over for tag lights, tint, blah, blah, blah. It's no wonder there is a free-for-all out there right now.

My biggest petpeeve besides people that drive with their head up their rears are the ones who think Right On Red means a 55mph, 10g turn coming out of their neighborhood. I've NEVER seen one of those idiots get pulled over.

[LibWhacker]

No, can’t be. I’ve been analyzing the data on you from your big-rig-driving days and, on average, while using your CB radio, you smashed into five Volkswagons, killed 2.716 people and scared 16 women and children half to death every hour. The statistics say so. You must’ve forgotten. ;-)

[DemonDeac]

Seventy miles per hour is a little over 100 feet per second. Look down and text message for two seconds and thats 200 more feet before your foot hits the brakes or you are able to swerve.

[houeto]

I think driving drunk is worse but the problem of cell phone talking is worse because...

People, the issue is no longer DRUNK DRIVING. They, meaning the politicians have made it IMPAIRED driving. That's why the BAC is now .08 nationwide. It is all about control. MADD is forming efforts as we speak to lower it nationwide to .05% BAC!

That is 1 beer or 1 glass of wine for many folks. It is all about control.

Can you say, "OBAMACARE!"?

[12Gauge687]

From Italy to Scotland to the good ol’ USA, we’re meeting at the bar known as LIFE. My friends overseas and I have similar complaints to yours.

During the past few weeks in Chicago, I saw morons on ninja motorcycles riding down the hash marks and breakdown lane at 70 mph. Last Saturday evening, I missed hitting one guy driving a Chryler Sebring convertible by inches; I signaled for the next off-ramp and started moving into that lane when he flew by me on the right - I barely saw him in my right sideview mirror.

My Scottish friend is mounting a digital video camera on his dash and plans to e-mail the video to cops and the local media. As you so adroitly observed, there seem to be fewer cops on the road. Armed with video ammo and an inquiring local media, the local Scottish cops might actually do something. The great thing about the MOT (Ministry of Transportation) is that they require BIG license plates on motor vehicles so violators should be easy to track down.

[VeniVidiVici]

Ah. Thanks for reminding me. Crotch rockets.

You had them riding down the hash marks. Couple years ago on Interstate 4 near Daytona, I was driving 80 in the far right lane. Traffic wasn’t too bad.

Windows up, air on, all of a sudden I hear this bumble bee like sound. I’m searching the inside of my car as it gets louder and louder. Then I look at my side view mirror just in time to see four or five of these crotch rockets ripping by me at about 90/100mph. While doing a wheelie.

[csense]

Both common sense and personal experience tell me that talking to a passenger while driving also decreases the driver's attention to the road and increases the risk of an accident.

Having a conversation with someone in the car, who is within your frame of reference, is not the same as having a conversation with someone on the phone, who is in a completely different frame of reference. That's why it doesn't matter whether your system is "hands free" or not. The distinction isn't where your hands are or what they are doing, it's where your mind is, what it's aware of, and what it's focusing on, etc.

[csense]

Hey, I can talk on a cell phone and drive. I can drink a Pepsi and drive. I can talk to passengers in my car and drive. And I can listen to my radio and drive. All safely. And you guys can, too. America's been doing it for almost a century, with not a peep out of anyone -- until the busybodies came along and began massaging the data and otherwise lying with statistics.

Talking on a cell phone is the only activity you listed that requires the person to focus their awareness on two different frames of reference at the same time. That's the difference, and that's why it's dangerous.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Having a conversation with someone in the car, who is within your frame of reference, is not the same as having a conversation with someone on the phone, who is in a completely different frame of reference.

Hmm. I can believe that phone conversations might be more distracting than conversations with passengers, though I don't know if anyone has run any studies, but that's not to say that conversations with passengers aren't also distracting.

That's why it doesn't matter whether your system is "hands free" or not. The distinction isn't where your hands are or what they are doing, it's where your mind is, what it's aware of, and what it's focusing on, etc.

I agree - the distinction is indeed where your mind is, what it's aware of and what it's focusing on. For this reason, I'm pretty sure that a conversation with a passenger to the side or behind you can be every bit as distracting and detrimental to driving safety as talking on a cell phone. I was in a car pool for a while and I saw examples of this repeatedly. Other activities such as listening to talk radio or good music could be distracting as well.

The point is that many things people do while driving decrease safety and can be rated as being equivalent to some level of intoxication, as cell phone use is. The real difference is that when we see someone using a cell phone while driving we know their first priority is not driving. But this is true of many or most of the other drivers on the road - we just don't get obvious visual evidence in the form of cell phones. Personally I think bans on cell phone use while driving are unnecessary.

[csense]

I don’t disagree with much of what you say, but I think cell phone use is more than a distraction, and I think research is going to bear that out very clearly in the coming years. For what it’s worth, I don’t really have an opinion on legislation, but people should be aware that this activity is different, and very dangerous.