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Last Words
Drivers' phoning deadly, but loved
by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; The Associated Press
02/12/2002
More accidents are being caused by drivers using cellphones, but many users say the benefits outweigh the risks, according to a study released today. Though data on the number of crashes caused by cellphones is incomplete, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis study suggests that drivers using phones are responsible for about 6 percent of U.S. auto accidents each year, killing an estimated 2,600 people and injuring 330,000 others.
Cellphone owners, meanwhile, say the value of security and peace of mind for instant communication, increased productivity, privacy and quicker crime and accident reporting is more important to them than the risk of an accident.
"People place a value on these calls, so just wiping out the phone calls and saying we are going to ban them, that's not something that should be taken lightly," said Joshua Cohen, lead author of the study, who acknowledged that cellphone use posed an overall public health issue.
Georgia Tech student Tiffini Pruitt, who responded to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution Metro Poll earlier this year, said then that she opposes the idea of forbidding drivers from using hand-helds.
"I think it's unfortunate that a lot of people don't use them safely, but a lot of people like me do use them safely."
New York state banned driver cellphone use in June 2001. In Georgia, seven bills restricting cellphones died in the 2002 Legislature. But advocates, including one woman whose 2-year-old son was killed by a teenager driving while on a cellphone, say they'll try again in 2003.
The cellphone industry continues to find fault with criticism of wireless phones.
"It's sort of assumptions built on assumptions," said Kimberly Kuo, spokeswoman for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.
The original article appeared at Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Links:
Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, Cellular Phones
Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, Cellular Phones and Driving: Weighing the Risks and Benefits
The Register article
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