WASHINGTON-Minnesota has become the latest state to enforce legislation restricting cell-phone use by teenage drivers, the 10th state to do so in the face of mounting research on the dangers of talking on the phone while driving.
Given their inexperience behind the wheel, teens are particularly susceptible to distractions, including those posed by cell phones. Indeed, teens are disproportionately represented in traffic crashes and fatalities. Several years ago, the National Transportation Safety Board-following a government investigation that concluded cell-phone use by a young, inexperienced driver contributed to a highway accident in Maryland in which five people were killed-recommended that states prohibit novice drivers from using cell phones, including hands-free devices.
Increasingly, states are doing just that.
“Driving is a multi-tasking activity, so all other distractions need to be limited,” says Kathy Swanson, director of the Minnesota’s Office of Traffic Safety. “When you combine cell-phone use and other distractions, it’s a recipe for a crash.” In Minnesota, 293 16- to 18-year-olds were killed on state roads from 2000 to 2004, according to the state.
Learning-permit drivers who violate the new Minnesota law, passed by the state legislature in July, face a fine up to $100 plus court costs as well as delays in obtaining a full license. Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee and Texas and the District of Columbia also ban mobile-phone use by teens in the graduated-licensing system.
Minnesota officials estimate that at least 14,000 motorists are talking on a mobile phone at any given time. They cited the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s finding that cell-phone use was a factor in 2,600 traffic deaths in 2003. In December, NHTSA said that driver cell-phone use increased in 2005 from the previous year such that at any moment during the day, nearly 1 million vehicles are driven by people operating a handheld phone. Two NHTSA-sponsored studies earlier in 2005 concluded cell phones are a major source of driver distraction and that the use of hands-free devices actually could 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.
The study underscored what the agency has long maintained: Hands-free is not risk free.
CTIA, the mobile-phone carrier association, favors safety education rather than legislation banning cell-phone use while driving. Moreover, the trade group takes issue with singling out cell phones as a driver distraction.
“Mobile phones are just one of many potential distractions while driving,” according to CTIA. “In fact, drivers participating in a study by the Automobile Association of America listed talking on cell phones as the eighth most common distraction out of nine. Eating, drinking, talking to other passengers, adjusting radio controls, applying make-up, and reading were among the distractive behaviors cited as more prevalent while driving.”
Meantime, Cingular Wireless L.L.C., the top U.S. mobile phone carrier, aggressively promotes safe driving by teen wireless subscribers.
Minnesota public-safety officials said that while the new law applies to mostly new teen drivers, all motorists should make efforts to curb cell-phone use and other driving distractions.
“You may be an experienced driver, but that doesn’t make it safe to drive distracted,” says Swanson. “Take your ears off the phone, put your hands on the wheel and your mind on the road.”
Other states may join Minnesota to try to ban teens from engaging in wireless conversations while on the road. The Michigan House approved a bill in October to take cell phones out of the hands of teen drivers. The measure is pending in the Senate Technology and Energy Committee. The panel held one hearing on the legislation in November, and is expected to schedule another after members return from their winter break.
