Ban may end driving diversion

It's nearly as dangerous as driving while intoxicated, but many students do it often when they get behind the wheel. According to a recent study by Dong-Chul Seo, a lecturer in the department of Applied Health Science, talking on cell phones while driving is much more of a safety risk than previously thought. \nThe study of 1,291 college students spanning five universities, including IU, showed an alarming 21 percent of accidents or near accidents oc curred when at least one driver involved in the crash was using a cell phone while driving. In addition, 86 percent of cell phone owners used them at least occasionally when driving.\n"It's like watching television while you're studying," said freshman Frank Walsh. "You're not giving it 100 percent of your attention. It's just a distraction." \nPerhaps the most interesting and groundbreaking finding of the study was that users of the previously thought to be safer hands-free cell phones were proportionally involved in more crashes than users of regular handheld models. Fourteen percent of all hands-free cell phone users in the study were involved in accidents, compared to only 4 percent of handheld users. This challenges previously accepted views that cell phones are dangerous because of the physical distraction rather than mental distraction.\n"Mental distraction while talking on cell phones while driving causes more problems than any physical distraction involved," Seo said. "Reduced physical distraction thanks to the use of hands-free models does not minimize cognitively distractive barriers."\nCurrently only New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., prohibit handheld cell phone use while driving. However, 30 states, including Indiana, are in the process of considering similar legislation. House Bill 1508 is presently awaiting a hearing in Indiana's House of Representatives, and if passed will impose a ban on handheld phone usage in vehicles. The proposed ban would not affect hands-free models.\nBecause hands-free cell phones are excluded from the bans, Seo opposes such bills. The problem, Seo said, is that this fosters the false belief that hands-free cell phones are safe, when in reality they pose as much if not more of a safety concern as handheld models.\n"I don't think that this would really increase driver safety," Seo said in response to the bill. "Reduced physical distraction does not necessarily enhance driving safety. The use of all types of cell phones should be prohibited."\nDespite the compelling evidence of the dangers of cell phone use while driving, Seo does not believe that a ban on all types of cell phones will be passed in the near future. One reason is because of the dramatic opposition to such a ban among the public. Even though nearly two-thirds of participants in the study believed that cell phones increase the risk of accidents, only 6 percent advocated a ban for them. \nIn addition, there is a lack of hard data on the subject, since only one state records whether cell phones were a factor in their police reports. Because of this Seo suggests that all states move to record this data to provide legislators with more reliable information.\nThere are critics who suggest that cell phones do not cause a significant distraction to the driver. A recent study performed by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center stated that other distractions were, "far more prevalent and could be more hazardous."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Trevor Brown at brownta@indiana.edu.