Experts disagree on how to measure the effectiveness of the cellphone ban.
As of last month, California’s handheld cellphone ban for drivers officially celebrated its 6th anniversary. While most everyone agrees that looking at a cellphone screen while driving is dangerous, some experts are beginning to question whether the ban is truly effective in reducing auto accidents and injuries.
Dangers of Cellphone Use While Driving
In general, anything that takes your attention away from the road while driving can pose a danger. This includes a multitude of activities from eating and drinking to reading a map, putting on makeup, and, yes, using a cellphone. According to a landmark study from 1997, the risk of an accident increases by nearly 400 percent when a driver is using a handheld phone. This may be because using a handheld phone provides three types of distractions: visual, manual, and cognitive. Your eyes are distracted by having to glance at your phone, your hands are distracted by having to hold the phone instead of the steering wheel, and your mind is distracted by having to think about your conversation. Already you may have realized that a handheld phone ban does not address the cognitive element of the distraction.
Conflicting Data on the Ban’s Effectiveness
One study conducted by UC Berkeley concluded that deaths related to drivers using handheld phones declined almost 50 percent in the two years following the ban. However, when researchers from the University of Colorado looked at the data, they reached a very different conclusion. Their data pool was at once larger and more targeted than that used in the UC Berkeley study rather than considering only fatalities, they considered all freeway accidents in nine of California’s traffic districts. And rather than comparing two-year periods, they compared 6-month periods before and after the ban. After controlling for factors like weather and holiday traffic, this team of researchers found that there was no statistically significant difference in accidents before and after the ban. The California Office of Traffic Safety has questioned the researchers’ methods as they obviously disagree with the conclusion reached.
Get Help After an Accident
Regardless of whether or not the ban is effective, the fact remains that if a distracted driver causes an accident through their reckless or negligent behavior, their victims are entitled to compensation. If you have been injured in an auto accident, contact experienced and aggressive personal injury attorney Michael A. Kahn as soon as possible.
