No decrease in collisions despite cell phone ban, study suggests

It may come as a surprise, but recent studies have found banning cell phone use while behind the wheel isn’t leading to a decrease in collisions.

Every province in Canada has a distracted driving law in place, which includes using hand-held devices, but researchers found the number of accidents only dropped from 66.7 per day to 65.2 per day.

Daniel Kaffine, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado
says studies show people who talk on their phones regularly are more likely to get into accidents – Even if they’re not on the phone.

He also says part of the problem lies with those who are complying with the law and those who are not. Meaning, it’s possible those complying with the law are already safe drivers, versus those who are not who may already be at risk of getting into an accident.

My mom has never been in accident in forty five years, she’s going to comply with this ban. However, the guy who passed me dangerously to get one car length ahead before we came up to a stop light yesterday, he’s not going to pay too much attention.

Kaffine also says that while cell phone bans and stiff fines could be a cash grab for policy makers, it doesn’t necessarily mean a stiffer fine wouldn’t decrease the number of accidents.

 

 

 

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