New York, August 31, 2009 – Cellphones are one of the many self-imposed distractions facing drivers--along with eating, drinking and grooming–and electronic communications devices are believed to cause more than a thousand auto-crash related fatalities in the U.S. each year. Drivers need to balance the convenience cellphones provide against the very real dangers they pose, warns the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)

“The safe operation of a car requires the full attention of the driver. The danger is that people can become so absorbed in their conversations or activities that their ability to concentrate on driving is severely impaired, jeopardizing their safety as well as vehicle occupants and pedestrians,” said Jeanne M. Salvatore, senior vice president, Public Affairs, and national consumer spokesperson for the I.I.I.

A 2006 study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that driver inattention is the leading factor in almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes.

In addition, in spite of state laws banning the use of hand-held cellphones while driving, a motorist’s use of a hands-free device does not eliminate the risk of a crash. 

There are more cars on the road today than there were three years ago, and cellphone technology has advanced to the point where these devices allow users to do more than just place calls; cellphones can surf the Web and create complicated documents, which some motorists attempt to do while driving a car. 

Research shows that motorists talking on a cellphone, whether it is hand-held or hands-free, are four times more likely to crash than other drivers and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a blood alcohol level of 0.08.

In addition, a July 2009 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study found that texting while driving is far more dangerous than previously estimated. The collision risk became 23 times higher when motorists were texting while driving, this study stated.

Six states–California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah, and Washington--plus the District of Columbia, ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving.

The dangerous practice of texting while driving is banned in 15 states–Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York (effective Nov. 1, 2009), North Carolina, Utah, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, plus the District of Columbia.

Employers are now concerned that they may be held liable for accidents caused by their employees while driving and conducting work-related conversations on cellphones, according to the I.I.I. Under the doctrine of vicarious responsibility, employers may be held legally accountable for the negligent acts of employees committed in the course of their employment. Employers may also be found negligent if they fail to put in place a policy for the safe use of cell phones.

In response to these developments, many companies have established cellphone policies. Some allow employees to conduct business over the phone as long as they pull over to the side of the road or into a parking lot. Others have completely banned the use of wireless devices altogether in the car.

The I.I.I. offers the following safety tips while driving:

While everyone should follow these safety rules, it is also important to review them carefully with teens when they are learning to drive.

For more information on this topic, see the I.I.I.’s Issues Update paper on Cellphones and Driving.

For more information about insurance, go to the Insurance Information Institute at: http://www.iii.org.

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