[IP] Re: New Study Refutes Assumed Link Between Cell Phone Use and Auto Accidents

[David Farber <dfarber@cs.cmu.edu>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>
Date: August 21, 2007 5:21:28 PM EDT
To: Frode Hegland <frode@hyperwords.net>
Cc: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>, dfarber@cs.cmu.edu
Subject: Re: [IP] New Study Refutes Assumed Link Between Cell Phone  
Use and Auto Accidents


> And are you saying that being on the phone - holding the phone with
> one hand - is the same as talking to someone in the back seat?

No, only that the studies repeatedly indicate that hand-held is not
more distracting than handsfree.  The fellow behind the Calif. law
even admits this, but wants to promote driving with "two hands on
the wheel" (though he doesn't seem to have any science to show
that's any safer, and the law doesn't require it.  And if you drive
a stick shift like me?  Oh well...)

> And anyway, all this talk of statistics, how reliable are they
> really? Would everyone who was involved in an accident while on the
> phone even own up to this?

Clearly an issue for *all* distractions related to accidents.  That's
why I think the latest study is so interesting.  If cell phones were
such a major new serious distraction leading to accidents, we should
easily be able to see an increase in the accident stats.  It should
stand out like a sore thumb.  But apparently it isn't there.  Unless
you can postulate some other factor that would have greatly reduced
accidents over the same period to compensate (I can't think of any
obvious ones), something seems very wrong with the assumption that
cell phones are so dangerous when driving in the first place.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com or lauren@pfir.org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com




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