Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) buried a research study in 2003 showing the dangers of talking on cell phones while driving. After researchers compiled data indicating the growing threat to highway safety from multitasking motorists, NHTSA officials decided to scuttle the project partly out of fear of angering lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They also decided not to inform then-Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta that states adopting hands-free laws might be wasting their time, since the devices did little to reduce the risk of distractions that lead to accidents.
The NHTSA research was publicized by The New York Times after two consumer groups, The Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen, obtained the data through a Freedom of Information Act request. The research revealed cell phone use caused nearly 1,000 driving deaths and approximately 240,000 accidents in 2002 alone.
Other research studies have shown drivers using cell phones are four times as likely to crash as other drivers, and can be as dangerous as drunk drivers.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
U.S. Withheld Data on Risks of Distracted Driving (by Matt Richtel, New York Times)
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