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Car Talk
Will Connecticut join New York in banning hand-held car phones?
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Business New Haven
9/4/2001
By: Fiona Phelan
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The radio's blaring, the kids are fighting, the dog is trying to get settled in the seat, the driver is fiddling with the air conditioning, reading the map and slurping down a soda. Oh yeah, then the cell phone rings.
All of this hubbub in a car can lead to motor-vehicle accidents. But some of these distractions are more often the cause of auto accidents than others. Believe it or not, using your mobile phone is quite far down the list.
According to a study conducted by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, funded by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, approximately 284,000 distracted drivers are involved in serious crashes each year.
The study finds that 15 percent of the drivers in the study were not paying attention, and just over half were distracted by something inside or outside the vehicle. The No. 1 in-car distraction? Adjusting the car stereo.
Using the cell phone falls far down the list, following talking to another person in the car, a moving object in the car (that would be the dog or kids fighting, or perhaps an errant bee), adjusting the climate controls, and eating or drinking in the car.
Why then are lawmakers across the country so keen on pursuing legislation that would restrict the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving? According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 40 states - including Connecticut - have proposed legislation to ban drivers from using hand-held cell phones. New York is the only state to succeed in adopting a law to ban hand-held use of a cell phone while operating a car.
In Illinois, drivers were previously banned from using hands-free devices that covered either of their ears. However, earlier in the summer the Land of Lincoln amended the law to allow both hand-held and hands-free use of a cell phone. Legislators plan to pursue regulations for restricting mobile phone use to hands-free devices only.
Massachusetts, Florida and California have imposed minor restrictions, according to the NCSL. For instance, Massachusetts law says that cell-phone use cannot interfere with vehicle operation and drivers must keep at least one hand on the steering wheel at all times. The issue is not just local or national, but international. Russia and England are among 23 countries that ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving.
In Connecticut, State Rep. Richard F. Roy (D-119) of Milford proposed legislation this past year that would prohibit the use of a mobile telephone while a motor vehicle was in motion on a public highway or private road unless equipped with a hands-free device. Exceptions would be made for dialing 911, emergency personnel and bus drivers.
Although the measure passed in the House, the issue died when the state senate sent the bill to the Public Safety Committee, where it failed to come up for a vote.
Roy, the bill's author, remains undaunted. Pointing to the House's passage of the bill by an 86-57 vote, and public support for the proposal (85 percent of people questioned in a Quinnipiac University poll last February said they favored a ban on cell phones), Roy says he will re-introduce legislation in the fall.
“I'm looking at introducing several bills that will deal with the topic of cell phones in different ways,” Roy says. “I'm looking at banning new drivers from using cell phones, for one thing.
“Any cell phone use can become a problem when the driver is not paying 100 percent attention to the road and doesn't have both hands on the wheel,” Roy says. “I'm encouraged by what's happened in the New York.”
Wireless operators have responded to the legislation in different ways. Verizon Wireless, for instance, fully supported the Connecticut proposal. Others, like AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless and Sprint PCS, did not. Instead, those companies proposed safety education for mobile-phone users. According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, there are currently more than 120 million mobile-phone users in the U.S., and the number continues to grow.
“Verizon Wireless believes that hands-free use of the mobile phone in the car is the common-sense approach,” says company spokeswoman Abra Degbor. “Legislation can very often be a form of education because it brings about discussion of an issue. The public recognizes the value of having a wireless phone for safety reasons and the need to have both hands on the wheel.”
Verizon Wireless combines its legislative support with a mobile phone-user education program. Although the company has an existing user-education program, a new campaign will be rolled out in October, according to Degbor.
“When you get your mobile phone we urge you to read the owner's manual, find out what it can do for you. Find the ways that you can speed-dial or use voice activated commands,” says Degbor. In addition, Degbor notes that her company offers safe driving tips on its Web site (www.verizonwireless.com).
There are ways for mobile phone users to safely make and take calls while driving. Most phones come equipped with a headset jack and headset, or ear buds are inexpensive (about $10). Cars may also be equipped with hands-free kit that provides a speakerphone to the user. There are also devices to hold the phone in place so a driver doesn't have to root around looking for the phone.
Many phones come equipped with voice command where a number is automatically dialed by voice command after initial setup by the user. By 2002, Verizon will require that all its phone suppliers provide phones that include voice-activated dialing and headset jacks.
“Safe wireless phone use is something we take very seriously at AT&T Wireless,” says spokeswoman Diane Saffioti. “The issue of distracted driving is larger than just wireless phones, and we don't think that wireless phones should be singled out.
“We don't believe that hands-free operation is the only answer,” she adds.
Officials at Sprint PCS agree. “We believe it's a matter of educating and changing people's behavior rather than legislation,” says spokesman Adrian Paul. “There are other things that are statistically much more significant as a source of driver distraction than mobile phone use.
“Legislation is a slippery slope,” Paul adds. “What else can we outlaw?”
At Cingular Wireless (the mobile arm of SBC Communications) the emphasis is also on driver-mobile phone user-safety education. In May, Cingular Wireless launched its “Be Sensible” program aimed at turning the tide in the battle against bad mobile phone etiquette and promote safety with wireless phone use. A major part of the nationwide initiative concentrates on safe driving. The company will conduct “Drive Sensibly Weeks” during peak travel times year-round. A comprehensive guide, Sensible Suggestions for Wireless Living, is available at Cingular locations and offers tips such as: make driving safely your first priority; use a hands-free device when available; don't engage in stressful or emotional conversations that may be distracting while driving.
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey released in July showed that at any given time, three percent of drivers are talking on hand-held cell phones while operating their vehicles. Like the AAA study, the NHTSA estimates that some form of driver distraction - including talking, eating, reading or even changing radio stations - is involved in 20 to 30 percent of all crashes.
The American Automobile Association followed up its distracted-driving survey with a ten-point action plan to educate its 44 million members, motorists, policy makers, educators, corporate leaders, manufacturers and employees about the dangers of distracted driving and how to mange those distractions. Included in the plan is a “Drive Safer, Talk Later - A Guide to Cell Phones and Driving” brochure that is available free of charge.
Similarly, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and the National Safety Council teamed up this year to produce a series of public service announcements reminding drivers about responsibility on the road and encouraging drivers who decide to use cell phones while driving to ask: “Is this the appropriate time to make a call?” And, “Will this call deter from my responsibility to drive safely?”
In addition, the PSA also encourages wireless phone users to follow some basic dos and don'ts: Never take notes or look up phone numbers while driving; never use your phone in heavy traffic or hazardous conditions; let the person you are talking with know you are driving and to keep the call brief; use a hands-free device and speed dial to place calls.
Law or no law, it seems that the wireless telecommunications industry agrees with that people need to use their cell phones responsibly while driving.
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