Do you Use Your Cell Phone While Driving? New Hampshire Cell Phone Ban Might Change That

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Over the years, there has been considerable debate among New Hampshire car accident attorneys and other professionals over the use of handheld cell phones while driving. In fact, many U.S. states and countries around the world have banned any type of cell phone use while driving. In the United States, New York was the first such state to implement a ban on cell phone use while driving in 2001 – and New Hampshire is the latest state to seriously discuss imposing such a ban.

More specifically, there currently is a proposed New Hampshire bill that intends to ban all handheld cell phone use while driving – along with a provision that may permit police officers to search drivers’ cell phones. Regarding the latter, many people believe that this part of the bill will not be passed due to privacy issues.

Driven to Distraction

When individuals use cell phones while driving, they are engaging in distracted driving behavior. According to Distraction.gov, distracted driving refers to “any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing. Distracted driving comes in various forms, such as cell phone use, texting while driving, eating, drinking, talking with passengers, as well as using in-vehicle technologies and portable electronic devices.”

Further, this organization also states that texting on a cell phone is especially considered to be a dangerous behavior as this activity:

(1) Takes a driver’s eyes off the road
(2) Takes a driver’s hands off the steering wheel
(3) Takes a driver’s mind off of the task of driving

Cell Phone Car Accident Research

Over the past fifteen years, a number of research studies have studied the risk of using cell phones while driving. For instance, in 1997, an earlier study from The New England Journal of Medicine conducted by Dr. Don Redelmeier of the University of Toronto reviewed 699 serious car crashes. From this review, Redelmeier concluded that cell phone use while driving quadrupled the risks of accidents. Another larger study conducted by the University of Montreal examined 36,000 people – and determined that individuals are thirty-eight percent more likely to be involved in an accident if they use cell phones while driving.

Moreover, in 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated that twenty percent of injury vehicle crashes in 2009 involved distracted drivers. Of the people who were killed in these distracted driving-related car accidents, eighteen percent of these crashes involved the driver using a cell phone while driving.

Overall then, both the research and the car accident statistics offer some compelling information.