Phones Increase Risk of Car Accidents

WASHINGTON — Drivers using cellular phones are four times as likely to get into a crash that can cause injuries serious enough to send them to the hospital, according to an insurance study released today.

Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggests that using a hands-free device instead of a hand-held phone while behind the wheel will not necessarily improve safety.

The institute said it was the first attempt to estimate whether phone use increases the risk of an injury crash in automobiles.

“You’d think using a hands-free phone would be less distracting, so it wouldn’t increase crash risk as much as using a hand-held phone. But we found that either phone type increased the risk,” said Anne McCartt, one of the study’s authors and the institute’s vice president for research.

With more motorists dialing and driving than ever, lawmakers have tried to find ways of reducing driver distraction.

New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia prohibit talking on hand-held cell phones while driving. In Connecticut, drivers will have to use hands-free devices beginning Oct. 1.

Some cities, such as Chicago, Santa Fe, N.M., and Brookline, Mass., require hands-free devices in automobiles.

But eight states — Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma and Oregon — prevent local governments from restricting cell phone use in motor vehicles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The researchers used cell phone records to compare phone use within 10 minutes before an actual crash with cell use by the same driver during the previous week.

It examined 456 drivers in Perth, Western Australia, who owned or used mobile phones and were in a crash that put them in a hospital emergency room between April 2002 and July 2004.