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Evaluating the impact of legislation prohibiting hand-held cell phone use while driving

Author

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  • Nikolaev, Alexander G.
  • Robbins, Matthew J.
  • Jacobson, Sheldon H.

Abstract

As of November 2008, the number of cell phone subscribers in the US exceeded 267 million, nearly three times more than the 97 million subscribers in June 2000. This rapid growth in cell phone use has led to concerns regarding their impact on driver performance and road safety. Numerous legislative efforts are under way to restrict hand-held cell phone use while driving. Since 1999, every state has considered such legislation, but few have passed primary enforcement laws. As of 2008, six states, the District of Columbia (DC), and the Virgin Islands have laws banning the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. A review of the literature suggests that in laboratory settings, hand-held cell phone use impairs driver performance by increasing tension, delaying reaction time, and decreasing awareness. However, there exists insufficient evidence to prove that hand-held cell phone use increases automobile-accident-risk. In contrast to other research in this area that uses questionnaires, tests, and simulators, this study analyzes the impact of hand-held cell phone use on driving safety based on historical automobile-accident-risk-related data and statistics, which would be of interest to transportation policy-makers. To this end, a pre-law and post-law comparison of automobile accident rate measures provides one way to assess the effect of hand-held cell phone bans on driving safety; this paper provides such an analysis using public domain data sources. A discussion of what additional data are required to build convincing arguments in support of or against legislation is also provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolaev, Alexander G. & Robbins, Matthew J. & Jacobson, Sheldon H., 2010. "Evaluating the impact of legislation prohibiting hand-held cell phone use while driving," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 182-193, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:44:y:2010:i:3:p:182-193
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sampaio, Breno, 2010. "On the identification of the effect of prohibiting hand-held cell phone use while driving: Comment," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 766-770, November.
    2. Haleem, Kirolos & Gan, Albert & Alluri, Priyanka & Saha, Dibakar, 2014. "Identifying Traffic Safety Practices and Needs of Local Transportation and Law Enforcement Agencies," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 53(1).
    3. Liu, Chenhui & Lu, Chaoru & Wang, Shefang & Sharma, Anuj & Shaw, John, 2019. "A longitudinal analysis of the effectiveness of California’s ban on cellphone use while driving," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 456-467.
    4. Hersh, Jonathan & Lang, Bree J. & Lang, Matthew, 2022. "Car accidents, smartphone adoption and 3G coverage," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 278-293.
    5. Wright, Nicholas A. & Dorilas, Ernest, 2022. "Do Cellphone Bans Save Lives? Evidence From Handheld Laws on Traffic Fatalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Nicholas E. Burger & Daniel T. Kaffine & Bo Yu, 2013. "Did California's hand-held cell phone ban reduce accidents?," Working Papers 2013-08, Colorado School of Mines, Division of Economics and Business.
    7. Chen, Jiangfan & Fang, Zheng & Azam, Ali & Wu, Xiaoping & Zhang, Zutao & Lu, Linhai & Li, Dongyang, 2023. "An energy self-circulation system based on the wearable thermoelectric harvester for ART driver monitoring," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PA).
    8. Leandro Rocco & Breno Sampaio, 2016. "Are handheld cell phone and texting bans really effective in reducing fatalities?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 853-876, September.
    9. Daniel Albalate, 2013. "The Road against Fatalities: Infrastructure Spending vs. Regulation?," ERSA conference papers ersa13p221, European Regional Science Association.
    10. J. Bradley Karl & Charles M. Nyce & Lawrence Powell & Boyi Zhuang, 2023. "How risky is distracted driving?," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 66(3), pages 279-312, June.
    11. Andrey, Jean & Hambly, Derrick & Mills, Brian & Afrin, Sadia, 2013. "Insights into driver adaptation to inclement weather in Canada," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 192-203.
    12. Poddar, Prashant & Singh, Vijaya, 2021. "When left is ‘right’! The impact of driving-side practice on road fatalities in Africa," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 225-232.
    13. Rahi Abouk & Scott Adams, 2013. "Texting Bans and Fatal Accidents on Roadways: Do They Work? Or Do Drivers Just React to Announcements of Bans?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 179-199, April.
    14. Jacobson, Sheldon H. & King, Douglas M. & Ryan, Kevin C. & Robbins, Matthew J., 2012. "Assessing the long term benefit of banning the use of hand-held wireless devices while driving," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1586-1593.

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