IIHS finds no clear safety implications from hand-held cell phone bans

An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) report on the long-term effectiveness of driver hand-held cell phone bans has found differing effects.
IIHS examined driver use of the devices in three jurisdictions where the practice of talking on a hand-held device is banned and compared them with neighbouring states that do not have a ban enacted.
In the District of Columbia, the proportion of drivers using hand-held phones dropped by roughly 50% immediately after a ban took place in 2004.
Nearly five years later use has edged up a little, but the decline is largely holding relative to nearby Virginia and Maryland.
In New York (which implemented a ban in 2001) use declined 47% and in Connecticut (which implemented a ban in 2005) use declined 76% immediately after the respective bans were placed.
“But then use began going back up,” IIHS said in its Status Report.
In 2009, hand-held phone use was an estimated 65% lower in Connecticut, 24% lower in New York and 43% lower in the District of Columbia.
In Connecticut and New York, phone use was higher in spring 2009 among women of all ages compared with men and higher among drivers younger than 25 versus 25-29 year-olds.
Only one per cent of drivers 60 and older were observed using phones.
“What’s clear from the surveys, despite some variability in their findings, is that bans on hand-held phoning while driving can have big and long-term effects, but the safety implications still aren’t clear,” Adrian Lund, IIHS president, said in the Status Report.
“Many drivers still use their hand-held phones, even where it’s banned, and other drivers simply switch to hands-free phones, which doesn’t help because crash risk is about the same, regardless of phone type.”