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Feds Say Hands-Free Cell Phone Use Ineffective

Cell Phone Use Contributes to Crashes

June 10, 2005
Government researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have concluded that using a cell phone while driving is a major cause of traffic accidents, and that hands-free devices have little safety benefit.

• California Motorists Cope With New Hands-Free Law • More Teens Using Cell Phones While Driving • Drivers Impaired Just by Listening to Cell Phone • Driving While Phoning Gums Up Traffic, Study Finds • Study: Drivers Using Cell Phones As Bad As Drunks • Survey: Outlaw Cell Phone Use While Driving • Cell Phone No. 1 Driver Distraction • More Drivers Talking While Driving • Listening, Talking, Driving Don't Mix • Poll Finds Motorists Irked At Other Drivers • Crash Risk Four Times Higher When Driver is On the Phone • Cell-Phoning Drivers Get Failing Grade from Johns Hopkins • Study: Eight Percent of Drivers Are On the Phone • Feds Say Hands-Free Cell Phone Ineffective • Hands-Free Phones Safer, Study Finds • Make a Call, Get a Ticket --- Cell Phone Hazards • Study Finds Little Short-Term Cell Phone Health Risk • Cell Phones Linked to Bee Decline • Mayo Clinic Finds Cell Phones Safe in Hospitals • Origin of California Cell Phone Fire Disputed • Cell Phone Ignites, California Man Severely Burned • Study: Cell Phone Users Have Lower Sperm Counts • Study: Drivers Using Cell Phones As Bad As Drunks • Doctors Warn Against Cell Phone Use In Storms • Cell Phones Cleared in Gas Fire • Sleep With Your Cell Phone? Don't Forget the Dog • Feds Warn of Cell Phone Battery Hazards • Risk of Cell Phone Explosions Growing • Cell Phone Catches Fire • Battery Recall • Traffic Tickets • Gasoline Fires • Radiation Fears --- • Consumer Complaints

Regulators from NHTSA and researchers from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute watched 100 drivers for a year. They report that cell phone use precipitated many crashes and near misses.

The research group used cameras and sensors to track activities inside a vehicle, recording crashes, near crashes and evasive maneuvers.

The study showed such events and maneuvers were often preceded by the driver being distracted by the use of a cell phone or other electronic device. There were nearly 700 incidents involving such wireless devices, the study found.

The study was published as Connecticut enacted a new law banning handheld cell-phone use by drivers. New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Chicago have approved similar measures.

The new federal research also adds to what experts say is a growing body of evidence that suggests hands-free cell phones will not deliver the safety benefits consumers, automakers and legislators hoped for.

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