Beware of the Cellular Keystone Cops
Issue #8
May 9, 2001
by Adam Thierer
One day soon, you may be pulled over and ticketed for using a cell phone in your
car. Hundreds of bills have been introduced in state and municipal legislatures
across America in recent years proposing to make talking on a cellular device while
driving a crime, although few have passed thus far. And even the feds are taking an
interest with the House Transportation Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
holding a hearing this week on the issue.
With cell phone use exploding in recent years (there are over 115 million wireless
subscribers today) and quickly coming to be considered an essential component of
everyday life, it is not surprising that these little devices would eventually start to
cause some problems. But just how big of a problem does cell phone use in cars
really pose? The results may surprise you.
The AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety has released the preliminary results of a
study in which the organization analyzed 26,000 traffic accidents caused by
distracted drivers to determine what factors contributed to those accidents. Among
the top causes were: outside objects, persons, or events (19.7% of accidents
surveyed); eating and drinking in the car (18.8%); adjusting the radio, cassette, or
CD player (11.4%); and distractions caused by other occupants in the vehicle
(9.4%). The less significant causes listed by the survey were: moving objects in the
vehicle (3.2 %); using or dialing on a cell phone (1.5%); using other devices in
vehicle (1.4%); adjusting climate controls (1.2%); and smoking related distractions
(1.2%).
These results are enlightening and help put the issue in perspective. According to
the AAA results, compared to using a cell phone, it is 12 times more likely you will
cause an accident by snacking in the car and 8 times more likely you might cause
an accident by toying with your car stereo. In other words, it would make more sense
for policymakers to ban eating Big Macs and listening to Britney Spears in our cars
than it would to ban cell phone use. Of course, such comparisons need to take into
account overall usage rates.
A much larger study of 284,000 accidents was released this week by the University
of North Carolina (UNC) Highway Safety Research Center. It revealed higher
numbers for outside influences (29.4%), identical numbers for car stereo
distractions (11.4%), slightly higher numbers for distractions caused by other
occupants in the vehicle (10.9%), but much lower numbers for snacking at the wheel
(1.7%). Importantly, however, the UNC study confirmed the results of the AAA
survey in finding identical results for cell phone distractions (1.5%).
The UNC and AAA survey findings reveal that public policy in this case is being
driven by perceptions, not facts. Because many of us are annoyed by people who
use cell phones while they drive, or fear they may place us at greater risk than they
actually do, policy makers are proposing bans on cell phone use in cars. This is not
to say, however, that using a cell phone while driving does not pose some degree of
risk. And this threat, critics argue, is only likely to grow as cell phone use grows. But,
thankfully, while new technologies often introduce new problems into society, still
newer technologies typically come along to solve those problems.
For example, "hands-free" cellular devices, which employ an ear piece and a clip-on
microphone, are already on the market and being widely used by motorists.
One-button speed-dialing, an option on almost all phones today, enables drivers to
place calls without having to dial a series of numbers. Better yet, voice-activated
calling is right around to corner. This will allow drivers to simply say "call home" and
let the phone do the rest. And auto manufacturers are currently integrating
"on-board" communications services into many of their new vehicles. These new
technologies will enable everyone to abide by the sensible old "10 & 2" rule that our
high school driving instructors taught us, allowing us to keep both hands on the wheel
and our eyes on the road at all times.
Imposing burdensome restrictions on cell phone use in cars, therefore, is
unnecessary and may actually cost lives by having the unintended consequence of
discouraging drivers from carrying a cell phone in their car. With an estimated
118,000 emergency calls placed by cell phone users every day, the life-saving
applications of cell phones are well established. If a ban was to discourage drivers
from carrying phones in their cars, the costs would likely far outweigh the benefits.
On a more practical note, it difficult to understand how such a ban would be
enforced. Where will policymakers draw the line? Since snacking behind the wheel
and playing with your car stereo are more distracting and dangerous than cell phone
use, should legislators ban those activities first? What about arguing with you
spouse or kids in the car? Should that be policed? And what about the CB radios
truckers still use?
There's a far simpler way to approach this problem from a public policy perspective:
Don't try to ban technologies (cell phones, radios, CBs, etc.) or specific activities
(conversations, singing, smoking, etc.) inside the cabin of an automobile. Instead,
simply enforce those laws already on the books dealing with reckless or negligent
driving. If a driver is weaving in and out of traffic lanes, or posing a serious threat to
others on the road for any reason, they should be pulled over and probably ticketed
if the infraction is serious enough.
In conclusion, a degree of patience and humility is necessary by policymakers. It is
impossible to legislate a 100% risk-free society into existence. Technology is
quickly solving a problem it created. Turning our nation's law enforcement officers
into a cellular SWAT team in the meantime will only deter them from policing more
dangerous activities while threatening to further erode our personal liberties with little
benefit to show for it.
Adam Thierer (athierer@cato.org) is the Director of Telecommunications Studies at
the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. |
