Do Cellphone Bans Work?

Cellphone bans have significantly reduced the fatal crash rate for drivers between 18 and 34 years of age.

Whether it be from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) or the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), cellphone use while driving has widely been associated with motor vehicle crashes and fatalities. As cellphone use continues to rise, distracted driving has become the concern of states and has prompted bans and/or restrictions on cellphone use in a majority of states.

A recently published article explored the effects of nearly a decade’s-worth of bans and restrictions on cellphone use while driving on the rates of fatal crashes in the United States.

Starting with New York state in 2001, numerous states have instituted some form of cellphone ban for drivers. Although the policy of restricting cellphone use while driving appears to have obvious implications, multiple studies on the efficacy of these bans – specifically on crashes and fatalities – have been difficult to confirm.

The authors of this study used data of motor vehicle fatalities from states that have implemented cellphone bans from 2001 to 2010. Although wide latitude exists among states as to the type of bans implemented (cellphone vs. hands-free device vs. text messaging), the authors hoped that this data could provide the foundation for standardization of policies and the basis to compare outcomes among states.

Data points used varied from age (14 to 65 and older), vehicle miles traveled, seat belt use, and per capita beer consumption in the state. Despite using up to 10 variables and data points, the results failed to attain enough statistical power to detect a significant reduction in overall reduction of motor vehicle fatalities for the population.

The study did find that certain age groups were more affected by bans than others. Cellphone bans have significantly reduced the fatal crash rate for drivers between 18 and 34 years of age. No significant effect was found among drivers 55 and older.

Commentary

As cellphone adoption continues to increase and technology makes these devices more ubiquitous, distracted driving will remain a major public safety concern. So after a decade of implementation, do the current laws restricting or banning cellphone use while driving represent the panacea to the problem?

These laws restricting use do pass the common sense test, however, definitive results will be needed to validate the efficacy of these policies. Although this study did not find uniform reduction across all age groups, the fact that significant reductions were seen among an age group with highest cellphone use is promising.

Although motor vehicle collisions and fatalities are decreasing, it continues to be major cause of deaths across all age groups in the country.  A combination of driver education with governmental restrictions will be necessary to see continued significant reductions with crashes due to distracted driving.

More studies will be necessary to monitor the progress of these interventions as states continue to let current bans mature and as additional states adopt and implement new restrictions.

Lim, SH and Chi, J. J Pub Health Pol.  (2013) 34: 197–212.

by

Nii Darko, DO, MBA

This review has been syndicated by Emergency Medicine News.