Drive and dial

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(by Rae Burger - June 26, 2008)

It is hardly a surprise to see someone driving down the road while using a cell phone. It happens every day.

Yet at least 15 states have laws that ban the use of cell phones while driving. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety states that there is a ban while talking on hand-held cell phones in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah and Washington. California’s and Washington’s bills take effect on July 1. Communities in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Pennsylvania have also banned the use of cell phones while driving. In addition, cell-phone use by teenagers who are driving is limited in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

Attorney Alvin Wolff from Alvin Wolff Jr. and Associates in Clayton is advocating for Missouri to be placed on that list.

“I have a seen a few horrendous, life-changing tragedies involving cell-phone use,” Wolff said. “People need to be aware of their own carelessness and negligence.”

Missouri had two bills proposed limiting cell-phone use. One called for prohibiting teenage drivers, or drivers with intermediate license, from using cell phones while driving. The second bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Smith of the 14th District in St. Charles County, would have prohibited all hand-held cell-phone use while driving unless usage was part of an emergency situation or caused by someone’s professional duties. However, neither bill was discussed on the House floor, and now that the 2007-08 legislative session is over, Wolff and his fellow campaigners are back to raising awareness about the issue.

Smith said he sponsored the bill because he had heard of a family in St. Charles that stopped to assist those in a broken-down vehicle; when the family was crossing the street, a driver on a cell phone hit and killed them.

One solution to the problem that is often touted is the use of hands-free cell phones, but a study conducted by the University of Utah for Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society found that hands-free cell phones are just as distracting as a handheld cell phones. The study found that motorists who talked on either handheld or hands-free cell phones drove more slowly and were less attentive while driving. Three participants in the study rear-ended the car used in the study, which was driving in front of them; all were talking on cell phones.

A survey released in 2008 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. on dangerous driving behavior interviewed 1,503 drivers and found that 81 percent spoke on cell phones while driving. Drivers between the ages of 18 and 30 used cell phones the most.

Forty-five percent of people surveyed said they have almost been hit or that they nearly hit someone while talking on a cell phone.

Smith said that if he were re-elected, he would again push for the passage of his bill. He is hopeful that Missouri will pass the ban, but he said he feels that if individual cities within Missouri start banning cell-phone usage while driving, it will be easier for the state to pass the bill.

Until that happens, Missourians are still free to drive and dial.

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