Eighty-five percent of subscribers use their phones to conduct business and talk to their friends and family while driving. A recent California Highway Patrol study found that chatting on a mobile phone was a contributing factor in many accidents, much more so than smoking, eating or talking to children while behind the wheel. Representatives from two insurance associations, which represent more than 700 firms agree with this statistic (Scripps Howard News Service). According to a GALLUP poll, the use of both mounted and hand held cell phones in motor vehicles has increased from 500,000 to more then 63 million as of April 2002. Of the 23 percent of cell phone users that reported using a cell phone while driving; research shows that one is four times more likely to be in a wreck if using a cell phone while driving, compared to not using a cell phone (Scripps Howard News Service). Seeing people use a cell phone while driving is an outrage. To put the lives of other people in danger, just for one's own convenience is a selfish act. It's not as though the drivers do not realize that they are committing such a heinous act, because they do realize that there is a distraction when they are using their cell phone but they are too ignorant not to use the cell phone while driving because of the "importance" of the phone call. A recent survey by Prevention Magazine indicated that 18 percent of respondents believed that their use of cellular telephones were distracting while they were driving. The survey also indicated that 70 present of the drivers found cellular telephone use to be the same or more distracting than tuning a car radio on. A survey recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found similar usage patterns.
At a research laboratory in Salt Lake City, professor David Strayer asked volunteers to take a ride in a driving simulator.