The Report That Almost Didn't Happen

Today the New York Times reported on a story about the risks of multitasking behind the wheel. The piece details the results of a massive, long-term study looking at among other things the dangers of cell phone use while driving. Bottom line: hands-free headsets don't eliminate serious accident risk and cell phone users at the wheel are 4 times more likely to crash as other drivers. It was back on October 31, 2008 that Myron Levin, CBS News contributor, first broke this story in a piece written for Mother Jones Magazine. Levin reported on the Bush administration's decision to nix a report on the dangers of gabbing at the wheel in 2003, the politics of roadway safety and one Michigan family's plight to prevent the death of their 12-year-old son, killed by a distracted cell phone driver from becoming just another statistic.