06/04/2003 -- NTSB Backs Car Cell-Phone Ban

NTSB Backs Limited Car Cell-Phone Ban

June 4, 2003 -- Washington - All states should prohibit inexperienced drivers from using cell phones behind the wheel, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.
New Jersey and Maine have passed laws prohibiting those with learner's permits from using cell phones or other wireless devices while driving. The NTSB said it wants the 48 other states to adopt similar laws, although it can't mandate the change.

"We think that inexperienced drivers should do nothing more than concentrate on the driving task," said Joseph Osterman, director of the NTSB's Office of Highway Safety.

The Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state safety officials, said it supports the board's recommendation.

Spokesman Jonathan Adkins said the association has been urging states to ban cell phone use among inexperienced drivers for the past two years. But Adkins said the group doesn't support a ban for all drivers.

Board chairwoman Ellen Engleman said the NTSB doesn't know enough about cell phone distraction to recommend a ban.

"We don't want to be simplistic and do a knee-jerk reaction saying cell phones are all bad," she said. "We need to find out facts and not come to a conclusion too fast."

But she did say it is critical to alert drivers to the problems caused by distractions. According to an NTSB report presented Tuesday, drivers who are distracted will respond up to 1.5 seconds later to a hazard on the road.

A study released last year estimated that about one in 20 U.S. traffic accidents involves a driver talking on a cell phone.

Though the study's data were incomplete, the research from the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis suggested that drivers talking on their phones were responsible for about 6 percent of U.S. auto accidents each year, killing an estimated 2,600 people and injuring 330,000 others.

The board recommended Tuesday that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (news - web sites) develop driver education programs and launch a media campaign to discourage driver distraction.

The board also recommended that NHTSA begin studying electronic stability control systems, which help prevent vehicles from veering off course. The board said NHTSA should consider mandating such systems if studies show they are effective. Right now, electronic stability control is generally offered as a luxury option on U.S. vehicles.

The recommendations were made after the board reviewed a February 2002 accident in which a 20-year-old Virginia driver with little experience flipped over her new sport utility vehicle and landed on a minivan in Maryland. She and four others were killed.

A federal investigation showed that the driver was speeding and talking on her cell phone when a wind gust hit the SUV. Investigators said the cell phone contributed to her loss of control, in addition to her inexperience and lack of familiarity with the vehicle.

-AP