Group Calls for Cell Phone Ban to Tackle Accident Rates Related to Phone Use
Image Courtesy: Flickr - Mike Dakinewavamon Kline
New Jersey has the distinction of being one of the first states to clamp down on the use of hand held cell phones, but now a national safety group is calling for a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving to eliminate one of the biggest causes of auto accidents.
Drivers in NJ are banned from talking on a hand held phone, or text messaging on one, and teen drivers are banned from all cell phone devices behind the wheel, but the state doesn't have a complete ban on cell phone use by motorists. In fact, no state in the country has a complete ban in place. That needs to change, say the National Safety Council whose President Janet Froetcher has called for a ban on all cell phone devices, both hand held and hands free. The reason for the push for no cell phone use in a moving vehicle is the growing number of automobile crashes that are being linked to these accidents. Ever since these devices became a part of our lives, cell phone usage while driving has become the biggest distraction to motorists, ranking above turning on the radio, reaching for something, or eating in the car.
Cell phone use is not looked at with the kind of reprehension we would reserve for, say, a drunk driver, and yet, evidence seems to suggest that using your cell phone – whether hand held or hands free devices – can negatively affect your ability to drive just as much as a few drinks can. Froetcher says the mistake is in assuming that a ban on hand held devices will suffice, when logic will tell you that the biggest distraction from using a cell phone doesn't occur because you are using your hand to hold the phone, but because your mind is miles away with your chatting partner, instead of the road ahead. In short, it's the attention deficit when you're using a cell phone that's the cause for accidents blamed on cell phone use.
In recent months, the Metrolink train crash in California has firmly turned the spotlight on cell phone use by drivers. The engineer in that accident was later found to have been exchanging text messages while he was on the ill fated journey. Dozens of messages were found to have been sent by the engineer, including one sent just a few minutes before the crash. The calls for tougher legislation to ban cell phone use have grown louder since then.
In New Jersey, it's been hard to quantify the effects of our cell phone legislation. While accident rates are down, it's still not certain whether this is due at least in part to rising gas prices. As a personal injury lawyer who regularly represents victims of accidents in Monmouth County, I believe we will find in the days and years ahead that these laws lead to safer streets and more responsible driving which is nothing but good news, for New Jerseyans.
