National Safety Council Says 1 in 4 Crashes Linked to Cell Phone Use

Personal Injury Law January 12, 2010

Washington - At least one in four crashes or about 1.6 million accidents are caused by cell phone use every year, the National Safety Council said Tuesday.

In a conference with other safety groups, organization’s senior director of transportation strategic initiatives David Teater, said that every year, almost 1.4 million accidents are caused by drivers talking on phone while 20,000 crashes are caused by texting while driving.

Meanwhile, some analysts believe that the statistics may be higher as people have the tendency to lie if the crash involves cell phone distraction.

In an effort to spread awareness on the dangers of using cell phones behind the wheel, the organization, together with the US Department of Transportation Secretary, has announced its new advocacy group called “FocusDriven”. This advocacy group aims “to make cell phone distraction socially unacceptable just like drunk driving.”

Currently, six states and the District of Columbia ban the use of handheld phones when driving while 19 states outlaw texting behind the wheel, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

However, there is no federal law that prohibits the use of communication device while driving.

In a recent study conducted by the University of Utah, drivers who are talking on phone are four times more like to encounter accidents while those who are texting increase their chance of crashing by eightfold.