Researchers at the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) examined collision-based insurance claims made in four U.S. states — California, Louisiana, Minnesota and Washington — in the months immediately before and after driver texting was banned.
They found the bans didn't have an impact on reducing crashes — and could even up the risk.
"Texting bans haven't reduced crashes at all. In a perverse twist, crashes increased in three of the four states we studied after bans were enacted," Adrian Lund, HLDI president, said in a statement. "It's an indication that texting bans might even increase the risk of texting for drivers who continue to do so despite the laws."
But ultimately, the institute suggests the reason for the counter-intuitative results is simple non-compliance: many drivers, especially younger ones, shrug off these bans.
In recent years, a number of U.S. states and Canadian provinces have enacted legislation and launched public-awareness campaigns aimed at curbing the use of hand-held devices while driving. A 2009 study from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found collision risk was 23 times greater for drivers who text-message, surpassing any other driving distraction by far.
The study released Tuesday found that among drivers younger than 25 — the group most likely to text — 45 per cent reported they still texted in states that bar such activity. This fell just shy of the 48 per cent of drivers who reported text-messaging in ban-free states.
And in all four states, crashes increased among that younger cohort after the ban was put in place, jumping by as much as 12 per cent (in California). "The point of texting bans is to reduce crashes, and by this essential measure, the laws are ineffective," Lund said.
According the the study, many respondents who knew it was illegal to text said they didn't think police were strongly enforcing the law.
Christopher Schneider, a UBC sociology professor, says our society is likely just in a transitional phase before such legislation is transformed into being understood as a "public evil" — similar to campaigns waged against drunk driving in the 1970s and 80s.
"A lot of the promotion of texting while driving is being given to us as a widspread social problem, which I think it is. . . . People could get hurt," he said. "I suspect in another 20 years, the youth who are ignoring some of this legislation will be teaching their kids, who will grow up learning about the evil that is texting while driving."
Schneider also said laws may get stricter as public pressure builds. In Alaska, he noted, a fatality caused by phone-based distracted driving carries a maximum penalty of 20 years — much more than a fine and lost demerit points.
Thirty-one U.S. states have implemented texting bans for drivers. In Canada, nearly every province has similiar laws in place against using hand-held phones while driving. Alberta and New Brunswick have both said they are in the process of studying potential bans.
from the Winnipeg Free Press.
http://www.leaderpost.com/technology/Driver+texting+bans+work+study/3593087/story.html
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