The Bad Driver Habit Most Likely To Cause Your Next Accident

Remember the time that guy in the Subaru almost sideswiped you, because he was too busy yakking on his cell phone to signal?

Common sense has long told us that talking on your cell phone when behind the wheel leads to distracted, dangerous driving. Several states and cities have even gone so far as to ban the practice.

Ever since New York led the way in 2001 by prohibiting the use of hand-held models while driving, the debate has continued: are cell phones any more distracting than other common driver-distracting habits? Is a ban on coffee drinking next? Or should we just slap a fine on anyone who takes their eyes off the road and call it a day?

Now cell phone-banning advocates have two new studies to back up what until this point has largely been assumption.

Researchers for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are now saying that the use of phones and similar wireless devices contribute to incidents and near-crashes much more frequently than other driver distractions.

More specifically, a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) pins cell phone use while driving to increase the likelihood of an injury-causing accident by four times.

Hands-free phones lull drivers into false sense of security

When the IIHS released their landmark study earlier this year, they concluded that cell phones quadruple the likelihood of an accident – and it doesn’t matter what type of phone you’re using.

“You’d think using a hands-free phone would be less distracting, so it wouldn’t increase crash risk as much as using a hand-held phone. But we found that either phone type increased the risk,” says Anne McCartt, one of the study’s authors. That means that laws restricting just hand-held phones might not fully address the safety problem.

Critics of the studies’ findings argue that talking on a hands-free phone is no different than talking to another passenger. But according to the NHTSA, there is a big difference. Your passenger can help you keep an eye on the road and know when a pause in the conversation is needed to focus on driving. The person on the other end of the line has no way of aiding you and they won’t take a breather when you’re trying to concentrate.

The fast lane to an auto claim

If your state or community has been slow to ban cell phone use while driving, put the brakes on your own bad habit. If you must use your phone, remember that the risk of accident increases when you’re attempting more difficult maneuvers, such as merging on or off of the highway. If at all possible, pull over to the side of the road before answering or making a call.

Remember: The number one way to keep your auto premiums low is to stay out of accidents. And the more you use your cell phone while driving the greater your risk of crashing will be.

Note from the editor:
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