More on Cell Phones

The bad news about cell phones on the road keeps rolling in. Two insurance companies have estimate that about 7 in 10 of the 244 million cell phone users use their phones while driving, and that 10% of all U.S. drivers are using their phones at a given time. From the University of Utah, we learn

• Hands-free phones are just as dangerous as hands-on.
• Drivers using cell phones increase the likelihood of getting into an accident by four times.

(Source)

The latest news: Cell phones are more distracting than passengers. A study with 41 drivers randomly paired them as drivers and conversation partners. When the conversation was on a cell phone, drivers were more likely to drift from their lane, kept a longer following distance, and were four times more likely to miss their exit. (Source)