News and Events

Study after study shows that using a cell phone while driving is just plain dangerous.  But how dangerous is it?  Dangerous enough that several states have already banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving – and many have legislation pending to follow suit.  Plus, the state of New York may even ban the use of hands-free cell phones while driving as well.

And our state legislators are not alone in their enforcement of safe driving practices.  According to the Insurance Information Institute, as many as 40 countries around the world restrict or prohibit the use of cell phones while driving.  In the United Kingdom and Germany you can lose your insurance coverage if you are involved in an accident while talking on the phone!

Will the States ever adopt such a policy?  Who knows?  But it’s certainly a possibility.  If cell phone use is illegal while driving, then insurance companies may be able to convince the state insurance departments to allow them to enforce “insurance penalties” for drivers who break that law.  Similar to drunk driving, such penalties could include higher rates or even policy cancellation – especially if the driver is involved in an accident while using the cell phone … and particularly if that driver causes the accident.

Cell Phones And “Inattention Blindness”

“Inattention blindness” occurs when a driver is distracted from the task of driving.  According to a report published by the Insurance Information Institute

“Researchers at the University of Utah conducted two studies. One found that 12 of 24 students talking on the phone during a driving simulation missed the designated exit, a rate four times higher than the drivers who were talking to their passengers and 12 times as high as drivers who were alone and not talking. The other concluded that drivers talking on hands-free cell phones were less likely to recall seeing pedestrians, billboards or other roadside features. An earlier study, published in the March 2003 issue of The Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied, found that the distraction risk is as high for drivers who use hands-free cell phones, just as for drivers who use hand-held devices.”

Now, I think it’s important – and only fair – to note that cell phone use is not the only distraction that drivers face.  The most common potentially dangerous activity while driving is reaching or leaning – like for something on the seat or in the glove box.  And other distracting activities include talking to passengers, playing with the radio, attending to children, putting on make-up, eating and more.

If you think about it, thinking itself can distract you from your responsibility to drive attentively and safely.  Ever drive down the road consumed by thoughts about an upsetting situation at work or in your personal life?  We all do.  But what are the chances that thinking or grabbing something on the passenger seat are going to be outlawed while driving!  Here are some more reasons that insurance companies and legislators are focused on banning cell phones from a driver’s list of potential distractions …

• In October 2004, a young girl’s family received a $2 million award because the girl was killed by a driver using a cell phone.  The family also filed suit against the driver’s employer because phone records showed the driver was talking to a client at the time of the accident. That suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

• Inattentive driving accounted for 6.5 percent of crash fatalities in 2002 — the latest data available — according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

• One study, conducted by the National Safety Council in 2001, showed that among those engaged in a cell phone conversation, twice as many missed simulated traffic signals when compared with drivers not talking on a phone. The study, which tested hand-held and hands-free cell phones, also found that it took longer for those surveyed to react to detected signals.