I’VE. HAD. IT.
On my way to the coffee shop this afternoon, I got grazed by a car driven by someone who was – all together now! – talking on a cell phone.
She blithely drove away, blissfully unaware of any wrongdoing.
Let me elaborate on that:
She was full in the crosswalk and the light was red.
The "walk" sign was green and the chirper (for all the blind people who live in housing on that corner) was chirping.
I was stepping around the front of her car so I could give her a dirty look, being as how there was room to back up and there was a good bunch of pedestrians that would have to detour around the nose of her car.
That’s when she decided to go through the intersection. I mean, WTF???
Her car brushed my skirt and glanced my thigh. Two seconds later and I would have been on the hood of her car.
For some unknown reason, the gush of expletives that erupted out of rage and outrage garnered weird looks from all the other people like I had a screw loose.
As if you didn't know this already, but here's some hard facts to back it up.
Driver inattention is a leading cause of traffic crashes, responsible for about 80 percent of all collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA )... crashes are the number one cause of accidental death in the U.S.
This page [PDF available] displays the results of a study that breaks down the Percent of Drivers Holding Phones to their Ears, by Major Characteristics;
the Percent of Drivers Speaking with Headsets On, by Major Characteristics; the Percent of Drivers Manipulating Hand-Held Devices by Major Characteristics; and the survey methodology.
The National Safety Commission (NSC)is on a missionto:
-Alert the American public that different kinds of distractions have different levels of crash risk. Talking on a cell phone and sending text messages are much higher risk activities that occur for longer durations and with more people than most other actions engaged in while driving.
-Lead a change in our nation’s cultural norms, so people come to view cell phone conversations and text messaging while driving as unsafe and socially unacceptable.
-Calling for a legislative ban on these activities is the first step in a long term process to educate Americans to their risk and change the culture.
Also at this page are videos of cell phone users – longest one is less than ten seconds – and maps showing:
US state by state breakdowns of hand-held cell phone bans
texting bans
young driver all cell phone bans
and bus driver all cell phone bans
Fact sheet
Using cell phones while driving is a very high-risk behavior with significant impact on crashes and society. More than 50 peer-reviewed scientific studies have identified the risks associated with cell phone use while driving.
Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a crash while using a cell phone. (1997 New England Journal of Medicine examination of hospital records and 2005 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study linking crashes to cell phone records).
There is no difference in the cognitive distraction between hand-held and hands-free devices. (Simulator studies at the U. of Utah.)
Cell phone use contributes to an estimated 6 percent of all crashes, which equates to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths each year. (Harvard Center of Risk Analysis).
80 percent of crashes are related to driver inattention. There are certain activities that may be more dangerous than talking on a cell phone. However, cell phone use occurs more frequently and for longer durations than other, riskier behaviors. Thus, the #1 source of driver inattention is cell phones. (Virginia Tech 100-car study for NHTSA)
It is estimated that more than 100 million people use cell phones while driving. (CTIA – The Wireless Association reports 270 million cell phone subscribers. A Nationwide Insurance public opinion poll showed 81 percent of the public admit to talking on a cell phone while driving).
The annual cost of crashes caused by cell phone use is estimated to be $43 billion (Harvard Center for Risk Analysis).
Talking to a passenger while driving is significantly safer than talking on a cell phone. (University of Utah)
Many businesses understand the risk and are already taking action. Among NSC members that responded to a survey, 45 percent (651 of 1453 respondents) said their companies had a cell phone policy of some kind. Of those, 22 percent said they re-engineered their processes to accommodate the policy and 85 percent said the policy did not affect productivity.
And more statistics:
Cellular phone use has gone up by over 600% in the United States. In 2005 there were approximately 10 million cell phone users* in the United States and approximately 50 to 75% of these cellular subscribers have used a cellular phone while driving. The numbers are staggering; at any given time, there are almost 1 million drivers on the road using a cellular device.
Iowa Study
*The number of current cellular phone users has now risen to 236 million according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.
Another studydone by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute showed that nearly 80% of all crashes and 65% of near crashes were due to driver distraction. The study also concluded that hand-held wireless devices were associated with the highest frequency of distraction related events for both crashes and near crashes.
We must use our outrage towards eliminating driving while using a cellular device. Contact your state representatives and senators, your US representatives and senators, governors.
Most important, contact Ray LaHood, US Secretary of Transportation:
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000 Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm EST
Email
Tell them we want a nationwide ban on using cellular devices while driving.