More Accidents Occur As A Result of Driver Distractions

Not paying attention to the road while driving can lead to accidents and sometimes fatalities.

Recently, an eight-year-old boy died when police say a 71 year-old driver claims he was distracted while reaching for a cell phone. His car jumped a curb, hitting the boy at a bus stop.

“Dialing while driving is a distraction that can be dangerous, just like eating or fumbling with the radio dial,” said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California.

Recent studies and research indicate that:

• Cell phone use has increased to 224 million users as of October 2006.
  
• There are approximately 974,000 drivers talking on a cell phone at any given daylight moment according to a study by National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS).
  
• According to an online Harris Interactive poll, 72 percent of respondents hold their cell phone in their hand while talking and driving, while 28 percent said they use a hands-free device. In states that require a hands-free device, these numbers change to 45 percent and 55 percent respectively.
  
• Driver inattention accounted for 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near crashes according to a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study released in April 2006. The most common cause of inattention was cell phone use followed by drowsiness.
  

A new law was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in September of 2006. The law, SB1613, will go into effect in July 2008. The law states that:

• Drivers must use a hands-free device while using a cell phone while they are driving.
  
• Will impose fines of $20 for a first offense and $50 for a subsequent offense.
  
• The infraction will not result in adding a point to a motorists driving record.
  

IINC is a non-profit, non-lobbying insurance communications association. For more information on this and other issues, please visit the IINC Web site at www.iinc.org.