Cell phone use while driving increases crash risk

People who use their mobile phones while driving are four times more likely to have a car crash than those who don’t, even if they aren’t holding the phone, according to a recent study published in the British Medical Journal.
Researchers of the George Institute for International Health at the University of Sydney concluded that about a third of calls immediately before a crash were placed on handheld phones. Furthermore, findings report that if a mobile phone was in use in the 10 minutes leading up to a crash the driver was four times more likely to crash. These risks, the study found, is irrespective of sex, age and whether or not the cell was being used through a hands-free device meaning hands-free tools do not result in safer circumstances for in car phone use. “If this new technology increases mobile phone use in cars, it could contribute to even more crashes,” researchers say.
Using handheld phones while driving is illegal in parts of Canada and the U.S. however these only resulted in a reduction of handheld phone use in the first few months after the laws were introduced, not a permanent repercussion.
While this study is gaining press, there have been numerous ongoing U.S. lawsuits alleging harmful health effects from cellphones. These suits are resulting in the wireless industry experiencing extreme difficulty securing insurance.
Insurance companies are actuary oriented, and will not take certain unprecedented risks. As a result, insurers are perking their ears to the study published by the George Institute for International Health.
Bell Mobility recently acknowledged the business and legal risks related to wireless service in a financial report. “Actual or perceived health risks of wireless communications devices could result in fewer new network subscribers, lower network usage per subscriber, higher churn rates, product liability lawsuits or less outside financing available to the wireless communications industry,” Bell Canada’s latest annual report states.