NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL PROPOSES CELL PHONE BAN FOR DRIVERS
The National Safety Council (NSC) is advocating a total ban on cell phone use for drivers. The safety group is campaigning for the ban suggesting that talking on cell phones while driving is like driving drunk. “When our friends have been drinking, we take the car keys away. It’s time to take the cell phone away,” Janet Froetscher, the group’s president and chief executive, said in interview.
The City of Chicago has banned talking on cell phones while driving and has considered creating legislation to ban texting while driving. The State of Illinois has banned cell phone use for teen drivers. No state currently bans all cell phone use while driving. Six states — California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah and Washington — and the District of Columbia ban the use of hand-held cell phones behind the wheel, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
One study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimates that 6 percent of vehicle crashes — the equivalent of 2,600 deaths and 12,000 serious injuries a year — are attributable to cell phone use. Hands-free cell phones are just as risky as hand held phones, she added.
For additional information, see the Chicago Suntimes.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a car crash, please contact an experienced attorney at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll. We have worked with countless clients who have been injured as a result of a distracted driver.
