janelane wrote:

(CNN) -- A study released Tuesday said drivers who use cell phones -- even hands-free models -- are four times as likely to be involved in wrecks involving a serious injury than are drivers who do not use cell phones.

"There was no safety benefit whatsoever from using a hands-free phone," said Anne McCartt, one of the authors of the study, which was published in the British Medical Journal and paid for by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
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The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, a Washington-based trade group, downplayed the findings, saying the distractions associated with mobile phones are no different from those encountered by drivers who eat or talk with passengers as they drive.
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The CTIA contends that following these guidelines can minimize risk:

# Assess whether a given call can wait.

# Do not take notes while driving.

# Do not talk while in heavy traffic.

# If possible, pull off the road and park in a safe location to use a mobile phone.

So what the CTIA is basically saying is don't talk on your cellphone while driving. Brilliant!

-janelane, amused

[ Yeah, they should've pretty much just said that, instead of hedging it. I completely agree. I don't need to do a scientific study to determine that people on cell phones act stupidly more frequently. Myself included, on the infrequent occasions i do so.

Then again, I use my cell phone for coordination about 80% and business/personal chatting about 20%, so I have a different metric. I think 99% of the things people believe are important can easily wait tens of minutes or even couple of hours. For me, if an event is taking place more than 300 miles away, I can't do anything about it in the short term anyway, so how can it possibly be an emergency for me? -k]

RE: CNN.com - Study: Drivers on cells more likely to crash - Jul 12, 2005