WASHINGTON-Other states and localities planning to implement a ban on the use of handheld mobile phones while driving may want to look at a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety about the impact of such a ban in New York.
“One year after New York became the first state to enact a law that bans the use of handheld cell phones while driving, use rates have returned to the same level as before the law,” said the highway safety institute.
The results of the study of four areas of upstate New York did not surprise the institute. “The pattern of initial compliance and then a gradual return to previous behaviors is typical when new traffic laws are introduced. Without enforcement that’s well publicized and vigorous, drivers tend to revert to their prior behaviors,” said Anne McCartt, an institute senior researcher.
The enforcement of the ban does not seem to be consistent, said the institute. “Only about 2 percent of traffic citations issued in New York between December 2001 and January 2003 were for cell-phone use,” the group said.
New York’s ban was passed in summer 2001 when the initial drop-off occurred; full compliance was expected early in 2002. It is punishable by $100 fine. Other states have also considered bans but none are to date effective.
The institute cited a survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that one in three drivers said they use mobile-phones while driving at least some of the time, and one-quarter of the drivers said they use phones on at least half of their trips.
