WASHINGTON-Two new studies sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that cell phones are a major source of driver distraction and driver use of hands-free devices could actually be worse than talking on handheld phones while behind the wheel.
“An analysis of these types of inattention revealed that secondary task distraction was the largest of the four categories [driving related inattention to the forward roadway, non-specific eye glance, secondary task engagement and fatigue]. The sources of inattention that generally contributed to the highest percentages of events were wireless devices (primarily cell phones),” the study stated.
A NHTSA spokesman said the second study confirmed what the agency has long maintained: Hands-free is not risk free. In fact, according to the spokesman, hands-free may cause greater dangers to drivers because of longer processing times.
The two government studies come amid the expected enactment in Connecticut of a new state law banning handheld cell-phone use by drivers. New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Chicago and other towns have approved similar laws. The legislation is a reaction to auto accidents-some fatal-in which driver cell-phone use has been implicated.
