Study: Cell phone bans may not work
Posted Feb 1, 2010 07:12:48 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The threat of fines becomes real today. We’re looking at B.C.’s new hands free law and whether it will actually cut crash rates.
Get caught and it will cost you $167 and three demerit points. So far, ICBC is finding people are paying attention. In one test, it found usage was down to a third of what it had been.
But will this ban decrease the number of accidents? One study from the U.S. Highway Loss Data Institute says maybe not. It found that in States where cell phones were banned in cars, the usage decreased by 41 to 76 per cent but the crash rate remained virtually unchanged.
The researchers believe hands-free devices may not be any safer, there are other distractions that should be considered and that more studies are needed.
