Studies, Statistics & Law
Current list of bans/limitations on using cellphones and or texting by US State:
Interesting Blog entry on dangerous driving
17 states have passed laws banning or restricting young drivers from using cellphones. The most recent state to enact such legislation is California. But the California law goes farther than any other state's. It bans the use of any mobile device by drivers under age 18. This includes a cellphone, a broadband personal communication device, specialized mobile radio device, handheld device or laptop computer.
In May 2007 Washington become the first state to ban the practice of texting with a cellphone while driving.
As of October 2008 driving while texting (DWT) was banned in seven states (Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington) and the District of Columbia
A survey of dangerous driver behavior was released in January 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. The survey of 1,200 drivers found that 73 percent talk on cellphones while driving. Cellphone use was highest among young drivers.
Text messaging, or “texting” by teens, a driving distraction related to cellphone use, was the subject of an August 2006 Teens Today survey conducted by the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). The survey showed that teens considered sending text messages via cellphones to be their biggest distraction. Of the teens surveyed, 37 percent said that text messaging was extremely or very distracting, while 20 percent said that they were distracted by their emotional states and 19 percent said that having friends in the car was distracting. The January 2007 survey by Nationwide found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.
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