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LOS ANGELES -- Laws banning the use of hand-held cell phones while driving may not have reduced the rate of accidents in California, the District of Columbia and two other states, according to a new study.
The report by the Highway Loss Data Institute compares insurance claims in California, New York, Connecticut and D.C. before and after the bans took effect. It also compares the data to other areas that do not have cell phone bans.
HLDI found no fluctuations in collision rates.
"The laws aren't reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk," said Adrian Lund, president of the Highway Loss Data Institute.
"So the new findings don't match what we already know about the risk of phoning and texting while driving," Lund said. "If crash risk increases with phone use and fewer drivers use phones where it's illegal to do so, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes. But we aren't seeing it. Nor do we see collision claim increases before the phone bans took effect."
One theory as to why the ban does not appear to have an impact on the rate of accidents is that drivers in affected jurisdictions may be using hands-free devices, which may have the same accident rates as hand-held devices, Lund said.
"In this case, crashes wouldn't go down because the risk is about the same, regardless of whether the phones are hand-held or hands-free," the study said.
The HLDI says it is currently gathering data to figure out the mismatch.
On Tuesday, a federal ban was announced, prohibiting drivers of commercial vehicles, like trucks and buses, from texting while behind the wheel.
The ban is effective immedietly.
Commercial drivers caught texting while driving face a penalty of up to $2,750.
California's hand-held cell phone ban took effect July 1, 2008.
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Read the study: http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr012910.html
The report by the Highway Loss Data Institute compares insurance claims in California, New York, Connecticut and D.C. before and after the bans took effect. It also compares the data to other areas that do not have cell phone bans.
HLDI found no fluctuations in collision rates.
"The laws aren't reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk," said Adrian Lund, president of the Highway Loss Data Institute.
"So the new findings don't match what we already know about the risk of phoning and texting while driving," Lund said. "If crash risk increases with phone use and fewer drivers use phones where it's illegal to do so, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes. But we aren't seeing it. Nor do we see collision claim increases before the phone bans took effect."
One theory as to why the ban does not appear to have an impact on the rate of accidents is that drivers in affected jurisdictions may be using hands-free devices, which may have the same accident rates as hand-held devices, Lund said.
"In this case, crashes wouldn't go down because the risk is about the same, regardless of whether the phones are hand-held or hands-free," the study said.
The HLDI says it is currently gathering data to figure out the mismatch.
On Tuesday, a federal ban was announced, prohibiting drivers of commercial vehicles, like trucks and buses, from texting while behind the wheel.
The ban is effective immedietly.
Commercial drivers caught texting while driving face a penalty of up to $2,750.
California's hand-held cell phone ban took effect July 1, 2008.
----
Read the study: http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr012910.html
