...Back to Page 1
A recent survey by one NAII member company found that 69 percent of people eat while driving, 12 percent apply makeup or shave and seven percent read a newspaper or book. A 1997 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that talking on a phone while driving quadrupled the risk of an accident and was almost as dangerous as drunken driving.
"The role that cell phones may play in traffic accidents is uncertain, in part because few people would admit to using a phone when they have an accident," Golden said. "States are only now beginning to add a provision in their accident report forms so police can indicate whether a phone was being used - again, if the driver would admit it or someone witnessed it."
The abundance of cell phones is growing rapidly. A NHTSA survey completed in January 2001 found that 54 percent of motor vehicle drivers in the United States usually have a cell phone in their vehicles or carry one while driving. Almost 80 percent of those drivers leave the phones on while driving and 73 percent report having talked on the phones while driving.
|
|
New York became the first state this year to ban the use of hand-held phones while driving. Several communities had done the same earlier. None of those measures prohibit hands-free phones.
Golden offered several suggestions to minimize driver distractions:
- Don't plan to fill traffic time with phone conversations. Keep your mind on driving.
- If you know you will be tempted to look at a newspaper, business report or day planner if it's handy, put it in the trunk before you leave.
- Be sure there is nothing in the car that will slide around or tip over while you are on the road.
- Plan your route and complete your grooming before starting the car.
- Preset the climate control, radio or CD and don't fiddle with them once you are under way unless you are stopped, as at a red light.
- If you are not familiar with the car, such as in a rental vehicle, identify the location of signals, wipers and lights before starting out.
- If you are hungry or thirsty, stop and take a break rather than eat or drink while driving.
- National Association for Independent Insurers
NAII, based in suburban Chicago, is the nation's leading property/casualty trade association with more than 690 member companies writing more than $98 billion in annual premium. NAII members write more than 33 percent of the property/casualty insurance in the United States.
|
