No matter how many times scientists, the Mythbusters, the government or even we bloggers tell you that driving while talking on the phone is dangerous, you just don't listen. So, why isn't the road littered with the shells of burned-out cars and the bodies of drive-time chatterboxes? A new study from economists Saurabh Bhargava, at the University of Chicago, and Vikram Pathania, of the London School of Economics, suggests that, while gabbing on your cell seems dangerous in a laboratory setting, it doesn't translate to real-world disaster.
The two researchers collected call data from a cell phone company, filtering for drivers' calls by looking for those that switched towers over an 11-day period in 2005. There should have been an increase in reported crashes during those spikes, and, yet, the researchers found none. They then expanded their research to cover more years and a wider area (the initial data being from California only), and still found no correlation between calls by drivers and reported accidents. The researchers have suggested that driving while talking on a cell phone may hinder some drivers, but may cause others to be more cautious.
Of course, the research is hardly definitive. There is no way for the researchers to identify the number of those drivers who were using hands-free devices, and there is an obvious correlation between downward trends in crashes and the increase of laws against talking on cell phones. Are the dangers of driving while on the phone overstated? Perhaps -- but we wouldn't consider this news as a license to drive around with your cell phone glued to your ear. Besides, it's still illegal.
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