Driving hazards: the phone factor: many things can distract drivers, but mobile phones are today's focus.

• Author: Sundeen, Matt

If you have driven a car lately, chances are good that something has diverted your attention away from the road. Maybe you are the driver who looked down to tune your radio. Perhaps your head swiveled to stare at an interesting lawn gnome decorating your neighbor's front yard. Were you the driver who turned around to tell your kids to stop fighting in the back seat? Did you try to eat a cheeseburger? Read a map? Fix your hair in the rearview mirror? Brush your teeth? Shave? Apply makeup? Wave a finger at the driver next to you?

The fact is there are hundreds of things that can distract us from driving, making driver inattention a significant traffic safety concern. Each year, more than 42,000 people are killed and more than 3 million are injured in more than 6 million motor vehicle crashes on our nation's roads. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 20 percent to 30 percent of all motor vehicle crashes--or 1.2 million accidents--are caused by a distracted driver.

PHONE USE DRAWS ATTENTION

Although studies conflict over which distractions cause the most accidents, one has drawn the most attention from lawmakers across the United States: the use of a wireless phone while driving.

Over the last three years, legislators have proposed bills on mobile phone use while driving in all 50 states. During the 2003 session alone, legislatures in 42 states considered such measures. Seventeen states have passed laws dealing with mobile phone use, at least 17 track mobile phone involvement in crashes, and legislatures in six states have approved studies to gather more information on the issue.

The rise in interest coincides with the dramatic increase in both the quantity and quality of wireless communications technology available in the car. The number of wireless phone subscribers in the United States has more than doubled since 1998.

The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association reports that more than 147 million people now subscribe to wireless services. A vast majority of these subscribers--more than 140 million--use portable devices that can be taken in and out of vehicles. NHTSA estimates that 73 percent of subscribers use their phones while driving.

The growth of wireless technology in the car has been matched by greater complexity and potential for distraction. Modern phones allow people to send digital pictures, surf the Web, receive updates on sports scores and check stock prices. The phones are not the only wireless technology, however, available to drivers.

Auto manufacturers are placing a variety of information and entertainment devices in new vehicles. In many cars, drivers and passengers now can check e-mail, follow navigation systems, receive fax messages and use a variety of gadgets that used to be available only with a fixed phone line.

Experts estimate that such in-vehicle technologies are likely to grow to a $30 billion to $50 billion industry by 2010.

IS THERE REALLY A RISK?

Although it is clear that both the volume and sophistication of the wireless communications technology have grown dramatically over the last decade, there is little consensus whether this poses a significant enough threat to traffic safety to justify legislation.

Proponents of restrictions have argued that the unique distraction caused by the use of phones and other in-vehicle communication devices takes a driver's attention away from the road more dangerously than other activities.

Communications technologies in the car require the driver to cognitively interact with the device for longer periods of time than other activities, thereby diminishing the ability to focus on the task of driving, according to those who support restrictions.

"Other activities are not sustained to the level of cell phones in the car," says...