Cell Phones Continue to Cause Alarming Numbers of Car Accidents
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I have previously written about the growing number of motor vehicle crashes nationwide in which cell phone use is a substantial contributing factor. As a matter of fact, as I drive my car locally and arrive at any red light, and look around, I usually see the majority of the surrounding drivers talking on a cell phone, whether held to one ear, spaeakerphone, or via use of an earbud. As I previously reported, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted a major study and issued a report called "Driving While Distracted". Amazingly, between 4000 and 8000 crashes per day are connected with distracted driving.
Of course, driving while on a cell phone is a prime example of distracted driving. In fact, by the end of 2004 there were 182 million cellular phone subscribers in the United States. In two separate field studies, over forty percent (40%) of Americans admit to driving while on their cell phone, however, just by looking around at your local intersection, you concede that is probably a low estimate. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found that reaction times are reduced by about twenty percent (20%) for drivers using cell phones over drivers not so distracted. There is a condition called inattentive blindness which suggests that the cognitive distraction caused by mobile phone use mutes a driver's awareness of information while they are driving. The studies showed that it does not matter if the cell phone is held to the ear or is used hands-free. The distraction is attributable to cognitive preoccupation, and not to actual physical use.
As reported in my last article, would you believe that the impaired distraction from cell phone use supposedly exceeds intoxication impairment? According to the study mentioned above, cell phone distraction is actually worse than alcohol intoxication. I am unsure of the method used to make this determination, but irrespective of this, we must all face the facts: when we drive and use a cell phone, we are making a conscious decision which certainly reduces our "attention level" just like eating food in the car or fumbling around for a CD to play.
Why has there not been more legislation banning cell phones while driving? The answer is that the lobby of the mobile phone companies is far stronger than the consumer outrage at this time. Only the states of New York, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia have cell phone bans enforced at this time. As a matter of fact, the mobile phone lobbying organizations are so strong that in ten states they have laws that preempt their local governments from enacting any legislation that touches on cell phone use while driving.
Ira Leesfield, a personal injury lawyer in Florida, suggests that lawyers representing persons injured by motorists using cell phones should not only claim regular personal injury damages but should claim punitive (punishment) damages. Lawyer Leesfield says "punitive damages may be assessed when the act in question was committed with malice, moral turpitude, outrageous aggravation, or in reckless indifference to another person's legal rights." Even though punitive damages are normally awarded in cases of intoxication or outrageous behavior, Leesfield argues that punitive damages are appropriate because all of the dangers and risks created by driving while on a cell phone are completely avoidable by the driver. His point is that a driver chooses whether or not to be distracted and to subject other drivers to the dangers. He contends that a driver should pay full-time attention to operating the vehicle and the risk that they take by driving during cell phone conversations should be a valid basis for punitive damages. Leesfield also realizes that one difference between driving on a cell phone and a driving under the influence situation is that it is illegal to drive while intoxicated.
It was also reported by the Chicago Sun-Times recently that a 71-year-old woman was badly injured when the driver of a van ran a red light. The van driver was looking down at his Blackberry at the time he ran the light and was working for an electrical contracting company. The driver of the van admitted he was distracted and looking at the Blackberry navigation system in order to try to find his destination. Unfortunately, he smashed into the Saturn and, ultimately, the victim underwent five surgeries, including two on her neck, and various other complications. The case was settled before trial. This is but one example of thousands where cellphone usage had very serious and permanent consequences. As drivers, we need to carefully consider when and what types of call we handle when involved in less than ideal driving conditions, and even then, we still take distinct risks when using mobile phones.