Middle Georgia Drivers at Odds Over Cell Phone Study

Jul. 16–A study released this week shows the risk of having an accident is the same for drivers who use a traditional hand-held cell phone or a hands-free version.

The same study, released by the Arlington, Va.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found that drivers face four times the risk of an automobile accident if they use any kind of cell phone than drivers who don’t.

The findings could prompt Georgia legislators to push for laws outlawing cell phone use while driving.

But motorists have mixed reactions to the study’s results. While most agree that cell phone use poses a threat on the road, some say the government should stay out of the matter.

“We’ve got enough laws as it is,” said Mike Howard, 34, of Henderson. “It would be just another reason for cops to pull us over.”

Brandy Blount, 32, of Jeffersonville, said although using a cell phone while driving can take the driver’s focus off the road, she thinks many drivers know how to multitask.

“They are some drivers that using (cell phones) doesn’t distract them,” Blount said.

But the study’s findings show that while handling and dialing cell phones when driving is hazardous, the phone conversation itself also increases the risk of accidents.

“This is the first study to quantify the risk of an actual, real-world injury crash,” said Russ Rader, spokesman for the institute. “Other studies have looked at drivers in simulators.”

The study took place in Australia from April 2002 to July 2004, where researchers looked for calls made within 10 minutes of a car accident in the cell phone records of drivers treated in hospital emergency rooms.

“We tried to do this study in the U.S., but we have to get access to cell phone records, and we were not able to get cooperation from cell phone companies to do that,” Rader said. “The driving situation in Australia is similar to the U.S., and the level of cell phone use is similar to the U.S.”

Rader said the study shows the risks are the same for hand-held or hands-free cell phones.

“The distraction in a vehicle is the same,” Rader said. “Talking on a cell phone is not consistent with total concentration.”

Calfee Marcus, a retail sales consultant at Cingular Wireless on Northside Drive in Macon, said she advises drivers to pull to the side of the road to talk on the phone or to buy a hands-free phone.

“A lot of people have had accidents because they were using a cell phone,” Marcus said. “But I don’t agree with banning hands-free phones. It’s not any different from having a conversation with someone in your passenger seat.”

According to the institute’s news release, using a hand-held phone while driving has been banned in certain parts of Australia since July 2001. However, one-third of the drivers in the study said their calls had been made on hand-held phones.

Rader said banning hands-free cell phones would prove even more difficult to enforce.

“Its virtually impossible to enforce a law that bans hands-free phone use because officers can’t tell when someone is using a hands-free phone,” he said.

But Lt. Eric Woodford, of Macon Police Department’s traffic unit, said enforcing cell phone bans would not be an issue.

“You can enforce it,” Woodford said. “Like D.C., Virginia, New York City, they already have laws passed.”

Woodford said a cell phone ban for drivers is needed in Macon.

“We do see people driving while using the cell phones,” he said. “In my opinion, I would easily say that it is a problem. We need laws like that for the safety of the roadway.”

For Frederick Bivins, 44, of Macon, near-accidents while using his cell phone have scared him into giving up using cell phones when driving.

“I almost got into an accident last week on Mercer University Drive,” Bivins said. “By the grace of God, I missed it. I wasn’t paying attention.”

Bivins said he is especially worried about his 16-year-old son driving with a cell phone.

“(Teens) can’t drive anyway,” Bivins said. “And they be on (cell phones) way more so than an older guy like me. Something has to be done.”

Yet, according to the institute’s news release, drivers older and younger than 30 experienced about the same increase in risk.

State Rep. Stephanie Benfield, D-Decatur, disagrees.

“I don’t think you need a study to show a new driver (that) talking on the phone is dangerous,” Benfield said. “In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer.”

In February, Benfield introduced a bill to ban cell phone use while driving for Class D licenses or new drivers. Since introducing the bill, Benfield said she has not been able to get a hearing scheduled.

“It makes absolutely no sense to me,” Benfield said. “You’re talking about saving lives. I’m definitely interested in pursuing it again next session.”

Benfield said currently there is not enough support among legislators to ban cell phone use for all drivers.

Rep. Bobby Parham, D-Milledgeville, has introduced bills banning cell phone use among drivers “three or four times over the past 10 years” and says legislators do not want to go up against powerful phone companies.

“You’re going up against a very major industry,” Parham said. “I hope these new studies will get people interested enough so we can pass this type of legislation. At some point, we are going to have to face the fact that people using phones are just dangerous drivers.”

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