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Car Crash ER Visits Fell In States That Ban Texting While Driving, Study Says (cnn.com)
A new study finds that states with bans on texting while driving saw an average 4% reduction in emergency department visits after motor vehicle crashes, an equivalent of 1,632 traffic-related emergency department visits per year. CNN reports: Researchers examined emergency department data across 16 US states between 2007 and 2014. The states were picked based on the availability of information regarding motor vehicle accident injuries for which emergency department treatment was needed. In the United States, 47 out of 50 states currently have laws restricting texting while driving. Of the 16 states researchers looked at in the study, all but one (Arizona) had one of these laws.
The states that had texting bans, regardless of the type or who it applied to, saw a 4% average reduction in emergency department visits, according to the results published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health. The states that chose to implement primary bans on all drivers saw an 8% reduction in crash-related injuries. Drivers of all ages, even those older 65, who are typically not known for texting while driving, saw reductions in the number of injuries following crashes.
The states that had texting bans, regardless of the type or who it applied to, saw a 4% average reduction in emergency department visits, according to the results published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health. The states that chose to implement primary bans on all drivers saw an 8% reduction in crash-related injuries. Drivers of all ages, even those older 65, who are typically not known for texting while driving, saw reductions in the number of injuries following crashes.
It's interesting that a study like this is even necessary. Who wants the privilege of handling the opposition argument? People will do it anyway? Sure, some will disregard the law out of hand, but a certain percentage will not.
The main problem with the legislation is enforcing texting while driving. Considering the time restraints alone, LEOs can't pull over everyone with a cellphone in their hands; and even if they could, we're mostly not willing to cede our rights away to away to allow a search of our phone for confirmation.
Banning the use of cellular phones entirely, while driving, is the only practical legislation.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Phones at fuel pumps isn't anywhere near as dangerous as they make out.
Sure, it's "distracted pumping" but the phone isn't going to ignite the fumes.
The only recorded instances are where someone has literally damaged the battery so bad that it was a fire hazard on its own anyway, a not-very-common occurrence.
The greatest cause of station fires, except for arson, etc., is static discharge. People getting back into their cars repeatedly, never touching the body work, etc. until they go to put their hand near the thing pumping fumes.
The number of times I see drivers texting while coming onto an intersection or traffic lights is staggering. These days traffic lights are no guarantee that a car will stop at a red light so you can cross the road.
Those who do not learn from commit history are doomed to regress it.
You have to be careful about these kinds of statistics. There are such a tremendous amount of uncontrolled variables that chalking this up to one single factor is probably not accurate. Fatalities per mile driven has been on a downward trend since the 1980s.
Also, the fundamental statistic here - the number of emergency room visits following an accident has decreased - does not seem appropriate for this study. Essentially this says that the rate of accidents themselves may be the same (or even have increased), it's just that the likelihood of serious injury has decreased. I'm not sure if they are implying that the accidents were going to happen regardless, and texting simply made them worse? Specifically, the quote about those 65 and older, who are the least likely to text while driving, also showed "reductions in the number of injuries following crashes". Again, it does not say they were in less crashes. It says that the crashes appeared to be less severe and thus they didn't go to the ER as often. That totally sounds like the result of better engineering so crashes result in less severe injuries.
To me, this statistic would indicate an increase in safety due to automobile engineering, or that other changes that directly impact the severity of an accident (reduced speed limits) have also taken affect.
I'm not condoning texting while driving. I just don't like to see data potentially misrepresented even if it is for the "greater good", and thus no harm / no foul if the study is inaccurate.
Better known as 318230.
We have laws against distracted driving and some fairly harsh fines. Some people still can't seem to break the habit of texting while driving. A local driver got stopped and ticketed twice in 6 minutes by two different cops and dinged with a total of $1800 in fines and license penalties.
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If a car crash only injured the occupants of the car that caused it you'd have a point...
But a car crash can injure pedestrians, bus riders or occupants of other cars who have done nothing stupid themselves.
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