Cell phones and driving

by Bob Gillespie
Everyone knows that talking on the phone while driving is a very hot topic these days, and (almost) everyone seems to agree that it's a poor idea. Meaning of course that it's too distracting for a driver, and is the main factor in a lot of collisions. I would love to know what the 'talking on the phone while driving' people think. I'm referring to the people who use their cell phones on a regular basis while driving.

So if any of you people are reading this, I invite you to submit a post on this blog so we can read about your point of view.

Also, people who are totally against cell phone use while driving are invited to post here also. I'm really stirring up a hornets nest here, aren't I? But this is a topic that just won't go away, and of course various jurisdictions are starting to ban cell phones while driving, or at least requiring hands-free driving.

For a different viewpoint on this subject I would like to quote Leon James, a professor of traffic psychology at the University of Hawaii, who says "multitasking itself is not necessarily distracting, and drivers need to train themselves to multitask without being distracted."

Well, as much as it may shock some people, I agree completely with professor James. I have been a driving instructor for more than 17 years, and I publish a defensive driver course in the form of an ebook, so you might not expect me to have this point of view.

I think multitasking is potentially dangerous unless a person learns safe glance behavior, waits until the traffic situation is not too demanding, and always relegates multitasking to a secondary role. When their full attention is needed for the driving task, then everything else should stop. Also, having very brief, important calls and using a hands-free device are excellent ideas, and so is not talking on the phone at major intersections with heavy traffic.

Think of police officers, tow truck drivers, bus drivers, and taxi drivers who have to multitask while driving. I think the difference is, they've learned how to do it safely. The same goes for driving instructors. While driving, I have had to look for street addresses, check a map, make notes sometimes, and so on, and have never had a mishap because of it.

After having said all that, I do think it's a good idea to just drive with all your attention on the traffic situation all the time. I think most people don't need to talk on the phone while driving. Speaking for myself, I don't do anything else except drive, not even listen to the radio; I do that at home. Besides, I usually don't like what they play on the radio.

In summing up, we really wouldn't need to be talking about banning cell phone use while driving if people could learn to do it in a safe manner. But that won't happen. Cell phone use will be banned before that happens. To the people reading this who do drive and talk in a safe manner, I congratulate you. And oh yes: thank you.

I think you will find the following article very interesting. Requiring drivers to use a headset while talking and driving is a step in the right direction, although I know a lot of people would like a total ban.


Text of Senate Bill 5037· Spreadsheet: State DOT summary of driver distractions (Excel format, 242 kb)
If Second Substitute Senate Bill 5037 passes this year, Washington would join a growing list of states that ban hand-held cell phone use in the car. In 2001, New York became the first state to enact such a law, which is intended to prevent dangerous distractions among a growing number of drivers who dial while driving.

California is the latest state to pass a hands-free cell phone law, in December. Washington's proposal, which passed the state Senate Thursday, is headed to the state House, where it has failed the past few years and where a companion bill failed to make it out of committee this year.
Under the Senate bill, drivers would be able to use only headsets or earpieces to talk on cell phones.

Two other measures, one that would prohibit text-messaging and the second, which would specifically ban teens from using hand-held devices, are under consideration.

In the first few months after New York's highly publicized law took effect, cell phone usage among drivers had dropped by 50 percent, according to a study. But a year later, drivers seemed to return to their old behaviors, with nearly as many drivers using cell phones as before the law passed, as media emphasis waned, said a 2003 report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The number of reported collisions in which cell phones contributed has gradually increased in New York since 2002, while the number of citations issued each year for cell-phone violations also has grown, according to statistics from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

"You might also look at the increase in cell phone use -- are there more cell phones out there now than six or seven years ago?" said Paul Ertelt, the department's deputy director of communications.

In Washington, D.C., however, which banned hand-held phones in 2004, the number of drivers using hand-held phones is still 50 percent lower than before the law went into effect, the insurance institute reported.

Unlike New York's law, which is a primary offense, Washington's proposal would be a secondary violation, meaning police would need another reason first to stop someone. A citation would cost $101, although the infraction wouldn't stay on drivers' records.

"With any law, some people are going to abide by it and some people won't," said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Monica Hunter, who backs the legislation. "Time will only tell whether people will comply, and that will come from how many stops we make and how many tickets for cell phones come out of that."

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, thinks she has more support behind the bill this year than before. She noted a PEMCO insurance survey last year in which about 80 percent of respondents supported a hands-free law.

"Quite frankly, so many people drive with them, it has become an epidemic. I think we need to realize that we need to have both hands on the wheel," Eide said.

Last year, the Washington State Patrol began tracking collisions in which cell phones and hand-held devices were a factor so that state legislators and officials would have data to examine as they considered regulating cell phone use.

Between January and September 2006, cell phones contributed to 889 crashes, or less than 1 percent of the 101,499 crashes reported, according to the most recent Transportation Department data available. One of the cell-phone related crashes was fatal.

In comparison, about 5 percent of Washington drivers are on their cell phone at any given time, according to a Washington Traffic Safety Commission report in 2005 based on observations of drivers at locations around the state. In 2000, a similar study estimated the cell-phone rate at 2 percent.

Opponents of the legislation question why it singles out cell phones, when drivers also eat, put on makeup or tune the radio, which can be just as distracting and can result in a citation if the behavior leads to an accident. And some question whether the law will be effective, when studies suggest that conversations, and not the devices, are what divert a driver's focus.

"There is some research that says it's the intensity of the conversation that's going to make the biggest difference and there is some validity to it," said Steve Lind, deputy director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, who supports the bill. "But that doesn't also mean you can't be distracted by dialing and holding it up to your ear."

Rep. Judy Clibborn, the House Transportation Committee's chairwoman, said a companion bill introduced earlier this session did not have enough votes to pass out of committee.

"I think some people feel like why pick on cell phone usage when there are so many other things that people do that are distracting," the Mercer Island Democrat said.

House lawmakers are much more enthusiastic about two similar measures that originated in their chamber -- one that would ban teen drivers from using hand-held devices and another that would ban text-messaging while driving, she said.

Eide's bill would exempt emergency vehicles, tow truck operators responding to a disabled vehicle, people using their phone to call 911 and those using a ham radio.
P-I reporter Scott Gutierrez can be reached at 206-448-8334 or scottgutierrez@seattlepi.com.Soundoff (Read 112 comments)What do you think?