CAR PHONES, GADGETS BIG FACTOR IN CRASHES.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Daily News Staff Writer

All those modern conveniences aimed at making driving more pleasant, less time-wasting and, yes, even safer, are making freeways and streets more perilous than ever, according to a government study released Wednesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that driver distractions already play a part in half of all collisions, and the problem is likely to grow with the increasing use of cellular telephones, mobile faxes, on-board navigation systems and assorted entertainment gadgets.

``As cars more and more become an extension of the home and office, we are creating a whole new array of potentially hazardous distractions,'' said NHTSA head Ricardo Martinez. ``We're creating part-time drivers.''

Martinez, a former emergency room physician, said he once treated a motorist who crashed into a tree while changing a cassette. In another case, several bicyclists were hit by a car when the driver searched his glove compartment for a compact disc.

In the sprawling San Fernando Valley, where consumerism and driving both are important parts of daily life, the problem probably is greater than the nationwide average, although neither the Los Angeles Police Department nor the California Highway Patrol keeps statistics on such details.

``There already is a law on the books that says that anything that interferes with your ability to drive is illegal,'' said Lt. Steven Allen of the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division.

Sgt. Mel Cunningham, a Valley Traffic veteran of 16 years, said he can't recall any traffic report in his division attributing a crash to cellular phone use or other high-tech distractions, but he suspects they are a factor.

He noted his department and other local agencies often don't practice what they preach.

Typing and driving

LAPD officers, many of them patrolling without partners, now are dispatched to most calls by computer rather than radio transmissions. They acknowledge the messages by typing in a response, usually without stopping the car first.

The same goes for checking out license plates on suspicious cars before stopping a driver, Cunningham says. Officers type in the license number and then read the written response on the computer screen while keeping the moving car in sight and their eyes on the road as much as possible.

``You have to have very good divided-attention span in order to do this,'' he said.

Motorist Rob Word, who sells pet food throughout the Valley, knows all too well about distractions on the road. ``You've got phone calls to make. It's a time-saver. If it saves you 10 minutes when you get home, it's worth it,'' he said. ``I get a lot of voice mails. Maybe you can get a quarter of them out of the way on the way home.''

But he also acknowledges he's in near fender-benders a couple times a week. ``If I didn't pay attention for another quarter second, I may have rammed someone,'' he said.

The federal report bemoaned the fact that some auto accessory suppliers are encouraging dangerous behavior by selling hardware to mount a laptop computer next to the driver's seat or even on the steering wheel itself.

But the agency stopped short of calling for restrictions, noting there are significant benefits to wireless communications on the road and insufficient data on how many collisions can be blamed on use of the equipment.

NHTSA's review of several states' crash reports found ``trends which show that cellular telephone use is a growing factor in crashes.''

``Contrary to expectations, the majority of drivers were talking on their telephones rather than dialing at the time of the crash,'' the report said. ``A few drivers also were startled when their cellular phones rang and, as they reached for their phones, they ran off the road.

``The overwhelming majority of cellular telephone users were in the striking vehicle,'' the report added.

Use increasing

There are now 50 million cellular phones in use nationwide, and that number is expected to double over the next two years. That's up from just 345,000 cell phones in 1985.

The federal study predicted the increasing dangers of high-tech distractions on the road as consumers buy more of the gadgets, but it is not the first report confirming the problem.

A Canadian study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that driving while using a cellular phone, even a hands-free model, increases the likelihood of getting into a crash fourfold, about as much as drinking alcohol to the legal limit. However, other reports have said using a cell phone while driving is about as distracting as fiddling with radio station settings.

The Washington, D.C.-based Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, which contributed to the NHTSA report, applauded the results.

``Everyone recognizes the risk of distracted driving, which is what this report is about,'' said association spokesman Tim Ayers. ``We are trying to alert our consumers to that.

``But it also notes the safety benefits of wireless communication for reporting accidents and other problems,'' he added. ``It greatly reduces medical response time.''

Part of training

George Hensel, founder of the California Driving School chain, said the matter is now part of new driver training.

``Our main emphasis always, always is to stress safety, and when you drive with one hand even to dial a 10-digit number you have your eyes off the road, so we discourage that,'' he said.

Hensel said cellular phone companies and law enforcement agencies generally suggest pulling over to the side of the road to make a call, then continuing on.

``In theory that's great, but in practice that's not realistic,'' he said. ``I think the practical solution for a person with some means is a voice-activated phone. I have one and I love it.''

Daily News Staff Writer Lisa Van Proyen contributed to this report.

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Photo

PHOTO A driver chats on her cellular phone while waiting for a light to change Wednesday at the intersection of Topanga and Ventura boulevards.

Tina Gerson/Daily News