Many drivers ignore risks of cellphone use
OKLAHOMA CITY - On his 15th birthday, Christopher Hill got his first cellphone. For his 16th, he was given a used red Ford Ranger pickup, a source of pride he washed every week.
Hill, a diligent student with a reputation for helping neighbors, also took pride in his clean driving record. “Not a speeding ticket, not a fender bender, nothing,’’ he said.
Until Sept. 3.
Hill, then 20, left the parking lot of a Goodwill store where he had spotted a dresser he thought might interest a neighbor. He dialed her to pass along the news.
Hill was so engrossed in the call that he ran a red light and didn’t notice Linda Doyle’s small sport utility vehicle until the last second. He hit her going 45 miles per hour. She was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
Later, a policeman asked Hill what color the light had been. “I never saw it,’’ he answered.
Extensive research shows the dangers of distracted driving. Studies say that drivers using phones are four times as likely to cause a crash as other drivers, and the likelihood that they will crash is equal to that of someone with a .08 percent blood-alcohol level, the point at which drivers are generally considered intoxicated. Research also shows that hands-free devices do not eliminate the risks, and may worsen them by suggesting the behavior is safe.
A 2003 Harvard University study estimated that cellphone distractions caused 2,600 traffic deaths every year and 330,000 accidents that result in moderate or severe injuries.
Yet Americans have largely ignored that research. Instead, they increasingly are using phones, navigation devices, and even laptops to turn their cars into mobile offices, chat rooms, and entertainment centers, making roads more dangerous.
Device makers and auto companies acknowledge the risks of multitasking behind the wheel, but they aggressively develop and market gadgets that cause distractions.
Police in almost half of all states make no attempt to gather data on the problem. They are not required to ask drivers who cause accidents whether they were distracted by a phone or other device. Even when officers do ask, some drivers are not forthcoming.
The federal government warns against talking on a cellphone while driving, but no state Legislature has banned it. This year, state legislators introduced about 170 bills to address distracted driving, but passed fewer than 10.
Five states and the District of Columbia require drivers who talk on cellphones to use hands-free devices, but research shows that using headsets can be as dangerous as holding a phone because the conversation distracts drivers from focusing on the road.
Fourteen states have passed measures to ban texting while driving, and the New York state Assembly sent such a bill to the governor Friday.
Massachusetts does not ban cellphone use while driving, but Brookline is among several communities nationwide with local laws banning the practice.
The states that rejected any efforts to limit distracted driving this year include Oklahoma.
Some researchers say sufficient evidence exists to justify laws outlawing cellphone use for drivers - and they suggest using technology to enforce them by disabling a driver’s phone.
“Just outlawing the behavior cannot possibly go very far toward getting people not to do it,’’ said Robert D. Foss, senior research scientist at the Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina. “The behavior is too ingrained and compelling.’’
