Group Wants to Ban Cell Phones While Driving

January 2009

The same group that campaigned to get U.S. states to enforce seat belt laws has announced that it will start a campaign targeting cell phone use. The National Safety Council is pushing for all cell phone use, including hands-free devices, to be banned while driving.

Many states and Washington D.C. have laws that require drivers to use a hands-free device. Recent studies have shown, however, that drivers are more distracted when speaking on any type of mobile device than they are when speaking to a live passenger. The Harvard Center of Risk Analysis estimates that using a cell phone while driving contributes to six percent of car accidents. The National Safety Council says this translates to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, and 2,600 deaths each year in the United States.

According to the council, there are more than 80 million people in the United States who admit to using a cell phone while they drive. The group says that it is going to call governors and state legislators and ask them to ban use of the devices behind the wheel.