Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Lawmakers Appear Torn On Cell Phone Issue

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 17:25:02 -0500

Lawmakers Appear Torn On Cell Phone Issue

BY MIKE ANGELL
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

A 2-year-old girl is killed when a motorist runs a stop sign while talking
on a cell phone. A model is injured when the driver of the car she's in
reaches for a cell phone. A Wisconsin father is killed when a 17-year-old
tries to make a cell phone call and smashes into his car.

Besides the many personal stories, new studies have come out showing
that cell phones play an increasing role in auto accidents. All this has
the cellular industry worrying about new legislation to curb cell phone
use while driving.

Still, the success of those efforts is not certain. Half of all new proposals
for cell phone regulation were defeated this year. The sheer popularity
of cell phones makes the issue touchy for politicians.

And many states want more reliable data before moving on the issue.

"It's not a slam-dunk," said Matt Sundeen, a researcher at the National
Conference of State Legislatures. "There are 137 million cell phone users.
That's a lot of people. A lot of legislators have a cell phone."

Most Legislation Stalls

Since 1999, every state has considered some sort of proposal to curb
cell phone use during driving. Most of these proposals didn't get far.

This year, 24 state legislatures introduced bills looking to regulate cell
phone use, according to the NCSL. Of the 47 bills introduced, 24 were
killed or indefinitely postponed. The rest are still on the table.

Image: Driving While Talking

New Jersey and Pennsylvania are seen as the closest to enacting new
legislation. The new laws will restrict just teens from using cell phones
while driving.

Unsurprisingly, the cellular industry remains opposed to anything it sees
as limiting the use of cell phones.

"Legislation is not the answer," said Kimberly Kuo, a spokeswoman for
the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.

Unlike drunken driving and seat belt use, the value of new cell phone
laws has yet to make itself clear. Last year, New York state passed a
law requiring only hands-free cell phones be used in cars. It's not been
proved if that law has reduced cell phone-related accidents.

Sundeen says more work needs to be done to show politicians the need
for new legislation.

"Politicians don't want to appear to be legislating common sense,"
Sundeen said. "There's also been no federal threat if states don't enact
laws," unlike drunken driving and seat belt use.

Future Impact

Politicians are also wary about the slippery slope such laws pose. The
auto industry worries that restrictions on cell phones could extend to
installed devices like satellite tracking or emergency services.

"This is such a new area we don't know where the technology is going to
go," said Murray Johnston, manager for state affairs for the Alliance of
Automobile Manufacturers.

A new Harvard University study may add more weight to regulation. The
study estimates the use of cell phones while driving causes 2,600 deaths
yearly. It also estimates 570,000 injuries and 1.5 million accidents.

The new study is a revision of one done two years ago for AT&T
Wireless (AWE) that showed about 1,000 traffic deaths could possibly be
attributed to cell phone use. That study used data from a Canadian
survey done in 1997.

Inconclusive Results

The Harvard study's authors acknowledge the results are not conclusive.
For instance, in regard to deaths, the study gives a potential range of
from 800 to 8,000 yearly.

Kuo says such a large estimate range shows the study can't point to
increasing accidents caused by cell phones.

"When you have range that's tenfold, how can you rely on that for a
clear answer?" Kuo said. "It's really inconclusive. When you draw such
huge conclusions, you get into trouble."

The problem is a lack of hard data. Many state highway patrols and
motor vehicle departments haven't required that accident reports note
whether cell phone use was a cause.

Other studies downplay the role of cell phone usage in accidents. A
University of North Carolina study said cell phone use was the eighth
leading cause of accidents. That puts cell phone use behind putting on
makeup or popping a CD into the player.

Even states themselves have a hard time coming up with good data. The
California Highway Patrol submitted a study to the state legislature that
some 900 accidents in California were caused by cell phones. But using
the same data, others have estimated 4,700 accidents were caused by
cell phone use.

Sundeen says 17 states are looking to pass legislation that requires
accident reports to include cell phone use as a possible cause.

The federal government is also getting involved. The National Highway
Transportation Safety Board is studying use of cell phones while driving.

http://www.investors.com/editorial/tech.asp?v=12/11

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