OPINION: Laws Restricting Cell Phone Use While Driving Go Too Far
Let's ticket those drivers who drive carelessly; don't assume all cell phone users are careless drivers.
By Kathy Tatone, Attorney
Feb. 21, 2008
Cell phones play an integral role in most peoples' lives. It's hard to imagine walking, working or driving without our phones nearby. Most drivers believe they can talk on the phone while driving without becoming distracted, just as they can change playlists on their iPod, eat lunch, put on makeup and attend to their children, all while driving. Now, however, many states and municipalities have decided that using a cell phone while driving is far more dangerous than any other distraction.
At least 25 states have enacted statutes regulating the use of cell phones while driving. These states have taken a variety of approaches, including regulating the use of cell phones by drivers younger than 18, banning bus drivers from using cell phones and banning hand-held phones while allowing hands-free phones.
- Five states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Washington) and Washington D.C. prohibit driving while talking on handheld phones. [Laws in California and Washington state do not go into effect until July 2008—ed.]
- Seventeen states and Washington D.C. have passed cell phone driving laws banning novice drivers from using their cell phones while driving.
- School bus drivers in 14 states and Washington D.C. are prohibited from using cell phones when passengers are present, except during emergencies.
- In May of 2007, Washington became the first state to ban driving while texting. New Jersey followed suit in November and a few other states are considering similar measures.
- Thus far, no state completely bans all types of cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) while driving.
Some say that driving while talking on a cell phone is as dangerous as driving drunk. That seems to be a stretch. It is true that using a cell phone while driving can be distracting, especially if a hands-free device isn't used. However, driving while drunk involves a loss of judgment and coordination that goes beyond mere distraction.
If cell phones truly were as dangerous as drunken driving, there would be a great many more accidents, along with deaths and injuries on our roads involving them. In reality, the number is small compared to drunken driving.
The use of cell phones while driving certainly raises concerns, but the harm should not be exaggerated in the zeal to impose restrictions. A 2006 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration examined the consequences of cell phone usage on the road. While cell phone use was found, unsurprisingly, to be a distraction, it was determined to be less likely to cause crashes than some other common distractions of drivers that are not regulated. Exaggerating the danger of something is a favorite way for those who want to control the lives of others to get legislative action. It creates a false sense of fear that builds public support to enact unnecessary regulation.
Utah and New Hampshire have taken a balanced approach and have passed legislation holding drivers responsible for their inattention whenever any distraction in their vehicle results in a traffic violation. Cell phone use is acceptable within the purview of these statutes as long as it does not result in dangerous driving. These two states have determined that a competent driver can decide which activities are too distracting to engage in while driving.
How do we put the genie that is the cell phone back in the bottle? Cell phones have become so much a part of our daily lives that we can't imagine not using them in every setting. In certain situations, cell phone use may actually result in safer driving. For example, if you're able to call ahead and say you will be late, then you may be more likely to drive slowly and carefully.
Even if driving while using a cell phone was a huge problem—a fact that statistics do not support—it should be addressed by broad distracted driver statutes such as those in Utah and New Hampshire. Such reckless driving laws allow police officers to pull over cell phone users who drive dangerously. Let's use these laws, which have worked for decades, to punish dangerous drivers.
Sources
Governors Highway Safety Association, ''Cell Phone Driving Laws,''
http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, The Impact of Driver Inattention on Near-Crash/Crash Risk: An Analysis Using the 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study Data (April 2006)
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