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The dangerous juggle. Darren McCollester/Newsmakers/Getty Images

 

By Mark Memmott

"Hundreds of pages of research and warnings about the use of phones by drivers" was kept from public view "in part, officials say, because of concerns about angering Congress," The New York Times reports.

But today:

The full body of research is being made public for the first time by two consumer advocacy groups, which filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for the documents. The Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen provided a copy to The New York Times, which is publishing the documents on its website.

The newspaper adds that:

The former head of the highway safety agency said he was urged to withhold the research to avoid antagonizing members of Congress who had warned the agency to stick to its mission of gathering safety data but not to lobby states.
Critics say that rationale and the failure of the Transportation Department, which oversees the highway agency, to more vigorously pursue distracted driving has cost lives and allowed to blossom a culture of behind-the-wheel multitasking. ...
The highway safety researchers estimated that cellphone use by drivers caused around 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents over all in 2002.

Back in October, NPR's Jon Hamiliton reported that "brain researchers say it's a terrible idea" to be using a cellphone while behind the wheel, "even with a hands-free device." They say the effect can be as bad as driving drunk.

Update at 1:15 p.m. ET: The Center for Auto Safety has posted the materials here.

The papers include this draft "distraction statement" from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

Whether the vehicle is a small car or a large truck, there are many things that can distract the driver from his or her primary task -- getting to a destination safely. Those distractions come in a many forms, from eating and drinking to conversations with others in the vehicle. While drivers must recognize that all distractions can be dangerous, wireless communication devices are a particularly unique and troublesome since they involve cognitive distraction. Research has consistently demonstrated that diversion of a driver's cognitive attention can seriously impair the ability to drive safely. And, the reality is, driver' performance can be compromised regardless of whether the device is hand-held or hands- free. Consequently, we recommend that drivers not use a cell phone while driving.

And there are these "talking points":

Statistics show that all distractions, whether associated with the use of technology or not, can increase the risk of a crash. NHTSA estimates that driver distraction contributes to about 25 percent of all traffic crashes.
Limiting use to hands-free phones while driving will not solve the problem. In either operational mode, we have found that the cognitive distraction is significant enough to degrade a drivers' performance. We therefore recommend that drivers not use wireless communication devices, including text messaging systems, when driving, except in an emergency.

categories: National News

8:25 - July 21, 2009

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