Posted on: Tuesday, July 6, 2004

DRIVE TIME
Panel wants cell-phone bans put on hold

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

The national Governors Highway Safety Association, which will be meeting in Hawai'i later this year, is taking an unusual stand against laws that ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving.

While two jurisdictions, New Jersey and the District of Columbia, were implementing bans against hand-held phones last week, the governors association was asking other states to hold off on similar legislation

The reason: the governors believe there's not enough data yet to show that hand-held phones used by motorists actually cause an increase in crashes. Instead, the group says there are a lot of other driving distractions that need to be considered and safely managed first.

Last summer, the governor's group announced research results that showed reading, writing, eating, adjusting the radio, interacting with others in the car and personal grooming were all as distracting to drivers as cell-phone use.

"While cell phones are the distraction that drivers love to hate, in fact they are just one of many that drivers encounter on a daily basis," said Kathryn Swanson, the GSHA chairwoman.

The group does discourage driving while holding a cell phone. It just doesn't think there's enough information yet to make it illegal.

That, though, is what some people are doing. New York state was the first to require that drivers use hands-free listening devices for their cell phones while operating a car. New Jersey and D.C. joined them this week, and there's similar legislation on the table in a dozen other states, although Hawai'i lawmakers don't appear ready to seriously consider such an initiative just yet.

The first complete study on the impact of New York's pioneering law is due in 2005.

Until then, the governor's group is suggesting that other states begin collecting data on distractions when they compile information about car crashes. Fourteen other states (but not Hawai'i) already do that. When other states start to gather the information, there will be a better basis to decide whether laws like the one in New York and New Jersey are really beneficial, the group says.

The cell phone debate will be just one of several dozen topics up for discussion when the GSHA holds its annual meeting in Wailuku, Maui, Sept. 25 to 29.

Among the workshops planned are ones that deal with medically impaired driving, low-cost infrastructure safety improvements, dealing with motorcycle fatalities and better traffic keeping records.

Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or leidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.