Can Your Secretary Take Dictation At 55 MPH?

Today the front page of the New York Times led off with a story by Matt Richtel, “Promoting the Car Phone, Despite Risks.” Driven to distraction, Ignoring Red Flags. Here are a few quotes from the story, “The federal government estimated in 2007 that 11 percent of drivers were talking on their phones at any given time….Researchers at Harvard have estimated that…drivers using cellphones were causing 2,600 fatal crashes a year in the United States and 570,000 accidents that resulted in a range of injuries, from minor to serious.” Richtel reports, “…a driver talking on a cellphone is four times likelier to crash and that using a hands-free device does not eliminate the risk.” Cell phone industry spokesman, Steve Largent indicates the explosion of text messaging poses a profound risk. Now more than 90% of American’s have cell phones. In late 1985, wireless companies had 340,000 customers. In 1995, they had 34,000,000 customers. Wireless service provider revenue soared, in 1985 it was $354,000,000, ten years later in 1995 it was $16 billion, in 2008 revenue was $148 billion. Richtel reports that drivers using a cell phone are four times likelier to get into accidents than drivers who were focused on the road. He writes “‘This relative risk is similar to the hazard associated with driving with a blood alcohol level at the legal limit,'” quoting from the New England Journal of Medicine. Daryl Evans of AT&T is quoted, “Texting or mobile device usage in a car is an issue on par with drunk driving itself.” Cell phone use divides our attention, slows perception and reaction time and increases the risks of crashing. Hands free devices do not help when dialing. The federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published a bibliography of more than 150 scientific papers written between 1997 and 2005 about the dangers of cellphone use by drivers. On September 3, 2008 the mother of Jennifer Smith was killed when a truck ran a red light at 45 mph. The driver of the truck, Christopher Hill, said he was so distracted by a cell phone call that he ran the red light killing Linda Doyle. It’s time to put our cell phones and PDA’s in the trunk and focus on driving. In other words, “On the Road, Off the Phone.” Thank you to the New York Times and Matt Richtel for shining a light on this issue.