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NTSB Looks at Cell Phone Effect on Driving

Aired June 03, 2003 - 13:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The National Transportation Safety Board suspects transportation would be a lot safer if drivers would stay off the cell phones. Already, the law in New York -- New York state, that is, and it may soon be the law in California, not to talk and drive at the same time.
Today, the feds are taking a hard look at the data, and CNN's Kathleen Koch joins me with that. Hopefully, she is not on the phone right now -- Kathleen, I see the phone is nearby, though.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can't have a studio without a phone, Miles -- breaking news.

But the NTSB this morning used a 2002 fatal accident in Largo, Maryland as a test case to examine just how dangerous cell phones are while driving. The February 2 accident happened when a young woman, talking on a cell phone, was driving an SUV that she was unfamiliar with. A wind gust hit the SUV. She lost control, and it flipped over onto a minivan that was being driven in the other direction, killing five.

Now, the NTSB looked at recent studies like the one in North Carolina that found that drivers talking on cell phones are nearly twice as likely to have rear end collisions. But that study didn't compare cell phone use to other distractions, and previous reports have found that things like using navigational systems, adjusting the radio, and eating are more distracting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do not agree, and that's one of the problems that we face in trying to identify issue. So the bottom line is that although cell phones are a distraction, relative to other distractions, we cannot rank that -- or the other distractions, as which is the most severe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: So the NTSB this morning recommended that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conduct a definitive, scientific study to determine the magnitude and the impact of all distractions. It also recommended that states make sure that their accident investigation forms have a place where police can note distractions as a factor.

Only 16 states now do that. As for banning cell phone use while driving, the NTSB does say that that is premature, though it did recommend that all states adopt a law similar to New Jersey's, and that law bans young drivers with learning permits or intermediate licenses from using any device like a cell phone -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Kathleen, are they going to look at the issue of distractions from children? Anybody who has driven with children in the back can attest to the fact that a cell phone offers peace and quiet compared to that distraction.

KOCH: Miles, very good point. They are going to look at whether passengers are distracting. Again, whether eating, putting on makeup, changing a CD, using these navigational devices, whether they are distracting. The NTSB simply feels that the jury is still out. The -- on cell phones, that they are simply perhaps the most visible distraction, but perhaps not the worst.

O'BRIEN: All right. I'd be interested to see how that study comes out. Kathleen Koch in Washington, appreciate that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired June 3, 2003 - 13:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The National Transportation Safety Board suspects transportation would be a lot safer if drivers would stay off the cell phones. Already, the law in New York -- New York state, that is, and it may soon be the law in California, not to talk and drive at the same time.
Today, the feds are taking a hard look at the data, and CNN's Kathleen Koch joins me with that. Hopefully, she is not on the phone right now -- Kathleen, I see the phone is nearby, though.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can't have a studio without a phone, Miles -- breaking news.

But the NTSB this morning used a 2002 fatal accident in Largo, Maryland as a test case to examine just how dangerous cell phones are while driving. The February 2 accident happened when a young woman, talking on a cell phone, was driving an SUV that she was unfamiliar with. A wind gust hit the SUV. She lost control, and it flipped over onto a minivan that was being driven in the other direction, killing five.

Now, the NTSB looked at recent studies like the one in North Carolina that found that drivers talking on cell phones are nearly twice as likely to have rear end collisions. But that study didn't compare cell phone use to other distractions, and previous reports have found that things like using navigational systems, adjusting the radio, and eating are more distracting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do not agree, and that's one of the problems that we face in trying to identify issue. So the bottom line is that although cell phones are a distraction, relative to other distractions, we cannot rank that -- or the other distractions, as which is the most severe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: So the NTSB this morning recommended that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conduct a definitive, scientific study to determine the magnitude and the impact of all distractions. It also recommended that states make sure that their accident investigation forms have a place where police can note distractions as a factor.

Only 16 states now do that. As for banning cell phone use while driving, the NTSB does say that that is premature, though it did recommend that all states adopt a law similar to New Jersey's, and that law bans young drivers with learning permits or intermediate licenses from using any device like a cell phone -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Kathleen, are they going to look at the issue of distractions from children? Anybody who has driven with children in the back can attest to the fact that a cell phone offers peace and quiet compared to that distraction.

KOCH: Miles, very good point. They are going to look at whether passengers are distracting. Again, whether eating, putting on makeup, changing a CD, using these navigational devices, whether they are distracting. The NTSB simply feels that the jury is still out. The -- on cell phones, that they are simply perhaps the most visible distraction, but perhaps not the worst.

O'BRIEN: All right. I'd be interested to see how that study comes out. Kathleen Koch in Washington, appreciate that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com