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Federal report confirms dangers of cell phone use and driving, according to watchdog group

by Maria Downey
Wednesday, July 22, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- It's taken six years, but consumer advocates have finally forced the release of a government report about cell phone use while driving.

According to public watchdog groups, the study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wasn't released because of ongoing tensions with congressional members over the issue.

But now, through the Freedom of Information Act, consumer groups want to make sure that drivers know driving and cell phones don't mix.

It's something you see every day on just about every street, drivers in constant conversation via their cell phones.

"Oh, it's a big problem," Russ Laurin said. "You can sort of tell when people are on their phones they're just inattentive to what they're doing on the road."

And now the consumer watch dog group Public Citizen says there's evidence that it's an even more dangerous distraction than originally thought.

Public Citizen says Americans have been kept in the dark about the dangers which include  hands free communication.

"So whether you're doing that on hands free device or on a hand held cell phone the distraction of the conversation causes the increased likelihood of a car crash," attorney Margaret Kwoka, with Public Citizen, said. 

And according to Public Citizen, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration failed to disclose research that showed just that.

The U.S. Transportation Department did not comment on the lost study, but did release this statement, quote "Distracted driving causes crashes and we want to stress that the best way to avoid accidents is for drivers to keep their eyes and their concentration on the road when they get behind the wheel."

That message is shared strongly by the Anchorage Police Department.

"Cell phone use while driving is a very dangerous thing," Lt. Dave Parker, spokesperson for the APD said. "The best thing to do is to pull off the road if you are going to use a cell phone."

Officers see first hand what happens when drivers are distracted.

"I've stood at street corners and actually counted the numbers of cars," Parker said. "And you'll see as much as 50 percent of drivers are actually talking on a cell phone."

And while APD doesn't keep stats on cell phone related crashes, officers say it's clear the increased cell phone use has led to increased crashes.

"Driving is a serious business," Parkers said. "And we need to give it our full attention. Whether it's talking to someone next to us, talking on the cell phone, eating something, whatever we're doing, we need to be able to have our hands free to maneuver the car and pay attention to what's going on around us."

And while some drivers admit to talking on cell phones while driving, all those we talked to said they were still concerned about the other drivers on the phones.

"I know that my attention is fractured when I'm driving if I'm talking on the cell phone at the same time," Beth Silverberg-Burgeer said. "I get concerned when I see teenagers and I see people not paying attention to the road."

And recent cases show the deadly affect of distracted drivers like texting bus drivers and trolley operators

In L.A. when a commuter line crashed, killing 25 people, the engineer had been texting his girlfriend.

There are also very personal stories right here in Alaska.

"My own son was struck by a 16-year-old girl who was in the process of talking on the cell phone," Parker said.

"A cousin of mine was killed in a head on crash when a real estate agent was talking on the telephone not paying any attention and ran into him," Don Borrows said.    

Just some of the reasons why consumer advocates are pushing for stricter cell phone driving rules

In the meantime, they're warning drivers to pay attention -- even if those rules are not in place -- to avoid dangerous and in some cases deadly distractions.

While cell phone use is still legal while driving in Alaska, texting is not.

It's also illegal to use just about any other electronic equipment while driving, except a GPS system.

Contact Maria Downey at mdowney@ktuu.com