Report: Agency Hid Distracted Driver Stats

(AP)  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gathered hundreds of pages of research and warnings about the hazards of drivers using cell phones, but withheld the information from the public in part out of fear of angering Congress, a newspaper reported Monday.

The former head of the traffic safety agency, Dr. Jeffrey Runge, told The New York Times that he was urged to withhold the findings to avoid antagonizing members of Congress who warned the agency against lobbying states. Runge said transit officials told him he could jeopardize billions of dollars of its financing if Congress thought the agency had crossed the line into lobbying, the Times said.

Critics say that the failure of the Transportation Department to pursue the role of driving distractions in car crashes has resulted in traffic deaths and allowed multitasking while driving to grow.

The research findings were obtained by the Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen through Freedom of Information requests, the Times said. The newspaper posted the documents on its Web site Monday night.

The findings included:

Cell phone usage by drivers increased 50 percent, from 4 percent in 2000 to 6 percent in 2002.

Driver distraction contributes to about 25 percent of all police-reported traffic crashes.

Cell phone use is growing as a distraction while driving.

Draft recommendations from NHTSA included that "drivers not use these devices when driving except in an emergency."

Legislation forbidding the use of hand-held cell phones while driving was not recommended because it does not address the problem and may instead lead drivers to think handsfree phones are safer.

The problem is that a cell phone conversation takes the driver's focus off the road, the studies showed.

The Times said the Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen will release the documents Tuesday.

[barbaram99]

I do use a cell as my friend wishes me too. But as a legally blind person I will not walk and talk. It not safe to do so, I read about the report where they are not safe to use for the driver while driving. i agree with the poster who said he/she will not talk to others when driving. amem here. I not for jamming cells etc in the car as the seatmate can use them. Ye drive then yer mind,ears,eyes, hands,feets are on the task of driving. That yer duty to get there safely. Anything else pull over to do if yer the driver.
i have to walk and I told my friend if I don't answer the phone then ye know I am walking. i will stop and talk. It is not just the ladies,men are the blame too.

[billcholee]

is anger enough?do lives mean anything any more? what has to be done to make our government understand? is outraged a strong enough word? i am very tired of them. i have no more patience, if i should happen to meet up with one of cheap simple minded basta--- i will punch his teeth down his throat.

[larryandcandy]

ON THE CELL PHONE ISSUE. I WAS A HOME HEALTH AID AND I WAS ON THE ROAD ALOT. IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, I HAVE BEEN REAR-ENDED 5 TIMES! DUE TO PEOPLE BEING ON CELL PHONES. I THINK THAT IT'S A BIG DISTRACTION AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE. I LOST MY JOB BECAUSE I'M UNABLE TO LIFT MY PATIENTS, WHAT DO I DO NOW? I DONT KNOW. DUE TO REPEAT INJURIES ON MY BACK, I'M NOT SURE IF I CAN PROCEED WITH MY DREAM OF BEING A NURSE. I HAVE FOUGHT AND FOUGHT WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANIES TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR CLIENTS USING PHONES WHILE DRIVING. RAISE RATES, CHARGE A BIGGER FINE BY THE POLICE. I'M NOT SURE. BUT IT REALLY HAS AFFECTED MY LIFE AND HOW I DEAL WITH DRIVING EVERYDAY. DOES ANYONE CARE? ONLY MY FAMILY, WHICH HAS LOST A GOOD INCOME THAT NOW CAN NOT BE REPLACED DUE TO THE ECONOMY.

[hennighg]

Oh, boy. Another group of rich people afraid of losing money. And all it would cost are few lives of the great unwashed. Business as usual

[Benton09]

In Iran if you are caught talking on a hand held cell phone while driving....they cut off your hands! Not really, but just think, over here there'd be no women drivers!! (Just a little humor...very little, I know.)

[mrsherman]

How about this for an idea? If a person while talking aon a cellphone causes an accident, how about the person they were talking to be held half resposible for causing the accident? That person was distracting the driver. :-)

[txlakeside]

AwComeonWhat ???? This happened under the Bush admin ... you are lieing again! ... a true dumb as dirt lieing republiCON! Car seats, seat belts, crash tests, DUI Laws ... yep the dumb as dirt do need GOV to tell them what to do! The National Safety Council has already stated that talking on a cell phone is as dangerous as DUI! If not for the National Safety Council 1000's of kids and adults would have died. The National Safety Council push for and got car seats and seat belts. Only the dumb as dirt could argue againt outlawing using cell phones in cars! Once the Insurance Companies realize they are paying for damage from cell phone stupidity, and people realize their car insurance rates will go up due to that stupidity ... this is a no brainer except for those with no brain and are just dumb as dirt!

[tiktin]

As near as we can tell after six years of research, all if this "auto safety" agitation is coming from the insurance industry. Mr. Runge, a former NHTSA administrator has, apparently, been hired by the insurance industry to promote their agenda. Their plan is to get the government, i.e., the police, to prevent motorists from doing anything which they fear might cost them money. In furtherance of this goal, they have paid members of congress millions of dollars in "campaign contributions". Members of congress are desperate for this money but fear backlash from the voters. Thus they have resorted to offering huge bribes of taxpayer money to state governments to pass these laws on the state level, thereby hoping the state governments will be blamed instead of themselves.
All of this would be bad enough if the demands of the insurance industry made any sense. In fact, most of what the insurance industry has been pushing, seatbelts, air bags, booster seats, etc., etc., has cost them hundreds of millions of dollars and has cost the American people billions of dollars and thousands of lives. The insurance industry executives, not technically trained, have been taken in by crackpots, con artists and self appointed do-gooders. The seatbelt-airbag-booster seat industry has made billions of dollars out of this racket.
You can find out all about this issue by visiting the website of the Safety Choice Coalition.
CONGRESS IS NOW DRAFTING THE NEW HIGHWAY AUTHORIZATION BILL. UNLESS THEY ARE STOPPED, THIS BILL WILL CONTAIN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN BRIBES FOR STATES TO PASS MORE OF THESE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE ORWELLIAN LAWS AND THOUSANDS MORE WILL DIE. WRITE YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES NOW AND TELL THEM TO REPEAL 23 USC 405 AND 406 AND TAKE SEATBELTS OUT OF 23 USC 402.
Stefan Schreier, for the Safety Choice Coalition.

[bobnjersey]

[In fact, most of what the insurance industry has been pushing, seatbelts, air bags, booster seats, etc., etc., has cost them hundreds of millions of dollars and has cost the American people billions of dollars and thousands of lives. ]

seatbelts, air bags, anti lock brakes, and child safety seats have saved countless lives ... and in most cases reduced severe injury signifigantly. no doubt these additions to the vehicles cost money ... and survivors of crashes where the occupants would have otherwise been killed, and that now survive, likely cost more medically in the long run.

[The seatbelt-airbag-booster seat industry has made billions of dollars out of this racket.]

and it's provided opportunities for countless numbers of companies, workers, salesman, entrepenuers, etc making things that protect people from serious injury.

all the companies making cell phones make products that lead to people walking into traffic, in front of trains, and cars into other cars.

who are the ones that are the problem again?

[culturechang]

This just happened at a state level too in my state. When govt agencies, who's primary responsibility is safety, fail to report these issues, we have to ask what good these agencies are and why we financially support them. It appears that internal politics is thier top priority.

[Samuel-HiLL]

Cell phone laws need to be enacted. We went through all this with seat belts. The morons continued to not wear them until a penalty was attached. The prospect of bashing your head on the windshield or being ejected from the vehicle, should have been enough motivation for anyone with common sense, but that brings up a point...

Common sense is obviously in short supply, and unfortunately, can't be taught at the university. Either you have it, or you don't, and if you fall into the latter category, you need laws to protect us and you from yourself.

Make it a $100 fine for the first offense, with a mandatory class to learn the facts of driving/cell phone use. Bump up the fine another hundred bucks for the second offense, and for the third, add another hundred and a ninety day license suspension, and people will start to toe the line. Sad it has to be this way, but without a deterrent, the problem will only increase.

It really should be more difficult to obtain a driver license as well. Tougher testing, and a probationary licensing period, where committing certain offenses, or exceeding a number of offenses prevents you from getting an unrestricted license for X number of years. Make the probationary license privileges similar to the work driving privs handed out to those under suspension.

And remember this: Everyone who drives slower than me is a dumba$$, and everyone who drives faster than me is an a$$hole.

we could cut our dependence on oil significantly if we just stopped licensing morons.

[beals1978]

I really hate the seat belts laws. Just gives the cops another reason to pull you over.