The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held public forums to examine the issue this summer, and Massachusetts state legislators held hearings on the subject just last week. As many as 300 cities are believed to have considered such restrictions. And last month, Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the country, became the first in its industry to publicly support state legislation requiring cell phone users to use hands-free devices while behind the wheel. I can't put a number on it,'' says Brooklyn Patrolman Rich Hovan about any deaths prevented by the law. Although 37 states have considered such laws since 1995, only California, Massachusetts and Florida have minor restrictions about cell phones in cars, and no state currently bans using the phones while driving, said Matt Sundeen of the National Conference of State Legislatures' transportation program.
Several studies show the risk of having an accident increases if the driver is on a cell phone.
A study in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1997 showed that motorists were four times more likely to crash when using cell phones. But the push to restrict the use of cell phones on the road also has motivations far more personal. Though the movement is not yet on the scale of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, many communities such as Suffolk County, which includes the tony Hamptons on Long Island, passed laws in the wake of fatalities caused when a driver was using a cell phone, experts say. There are growing fears in general about the rising tide of technology, from fax machines to navigation systems, showing up in cars. But experts say some data may be misleading, with police noting the presence of a cell phone, for example, though it may not have been in use.