Banning phone use while driving a "no-brainer"
· By: Drivers.com staff
· Date: 2001-05-29
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Canada's top medical journal is calling for laws restricting the use of phones
while driving, arguing it is a "no-brainer" that using one behind the wheel
is risky. According to the National
Post , the Canadian Medical Association Journal calls for the ban
in an editorial published today. "Computers, fax machines, and DVD screens
are also starting to clamour for dashboard space. We need to regulate the use
of cell phones and other driver-distracting devices. This is a no-brainer." The
journal points to Redelmeier and Tibshirani, the authors of an influential
study conducted in 1997 at the University of Toronto, who recently added a
caveat to their previous research. If enough of the drivers who refused to
participate in the research did so because of a fear of being "caught" using
their mobile phones dangerously, then the original report may have underestimated
the risk by as much as 10 times. Driving while using a phone "may be as high
as a fortyfold increase in risk." 
- Drivers.com's section on mobile phones
- Hands-free may be as dangerous as hand-held
- ICBC study of drivers on a closed track
