Study Finds Cellphone Ban To Be Ineffective

New York drivers hung up their cellphones for a while but are back to using hand-held models at nearly the same rate they were using them before the state banned them, an increase a study blames mostly on lack of publicity, reports the WSJ.

"In 2001, New York became the first state to prohibit drivers from talking on hand-held devices while operating a motor vehicle. Since then, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., have passed cellphone bans and a number of other states and cities have considered similar laws.

The study found the rate of drivers chatting on cellphones declined from 2.3% before the law went into effect to 1.1% during the first few months after the law was passed.

By March 2003, a year after the law took effect, the rate had risen to 2.1%. The study appears Wednesday in the journal Injury Prevention".

emily | 3:55 PM | Cell Phones while driving/flying/sailing |
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