November 25, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ --
Cellphone Ban Continues to Affect Driving Habits
Article provided by Frederick J. Brynn, P.C.
Visit us at
www.brynnlawoffice.com
As you drive around Washington DC, you're certainly not alone if you're spotting a lot of people talking on cellphones while they're behind the wheel.
While it might appear that there are people breaking Washington DC's cellphone law as far as the eye can see, a new study concludes that illegal use of cell phones would be 43 percent higher if not for the ban and its enforcement.
According to the Washington Post, last year law enforcement officers issued 12,936 tickets and 7,519 warnings to District drivers using their cellphones.
Safety experts cite much more grim numbers about cellphone use, which they now believe is responsible for over 630,000 traffic accidents per year, resulting in 2,600 deaths and 342,000 injuries. The financial toll is also staggering: $43 billion annually due to distracted drivers.
Researchers studied District drivers both before the city's 2004 ban and at intervals since, concluding that use of hand-helds dropped 41 percent immediately after the law became effective. Five years on, the lessening of lawbreaking continues at almost the same rate.
The study concludes that our city's strict enforcement of the ban has had the desired effect of decreasing cellphone use among drivers. In New York and Connecticut - states that also enacted cell phone bans - the sharp declines in cellphone use that followed the enactment of the law eroded, with more and more drivers resuming illegal use of the devices.
The District issued 28,676 tickets in the two and a half years ending in December 2008. While those $100 tickets generate income and lower illegal use of cellphones, it's not clear if they make our streets safer. Studies show that drivers who use hands-free cellphones while driving are just as likely to be just as distracted as users of hands-on phones.
Article provided by Frederick J. Brynn, P.C.
Visit us at
www.brynnlawoffice.com---
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