DIAL 'D' FOR DANGER IN CARS RESEARCHER CITES PHONE FATALITIES.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Launching a new attack on cellular phones, a leading traffic safety expert urged state lawmakers Thursday to ban driving while on the phone, saying it leads to 1,000 deaths a year nationwide.

Frances D. Bents, an accident investigation researcher who co-authored a federal study on the risks of cell phone use, said California should join 37 other states that are considering such bans.

``I have seen the faces of the dead, I know the stories of the injured - and I believe that the use of cell phones by drivers creates an unnecessary risk to the driving public,'' Bents told a legislative panel led by Assemblywoman Audie Bock, I-Oakland.

Though police reports fail to provide concrete statistics on phone-related deaths, Bents estimated 1,000 Americans die a year from crashes induced by roadway phone distractions.

Bents' call follows a growing rumble of discontent about cell phone disturbances in movie theaters, on airplanes and on the road, where drivers dog the fast lane, drift or cause collisions.

The cell phone industry, which opposes legislation on the grounds car distractions such as CD players are not similarly outlawed, proposes educating drivers on safe usage instead.

``We're opposed to any legislation that singles out wireless phones, because there are so many distractions while driving a car - from eating, reading maps, looking up directions, kids in the back seat, conversations with other passengers, pets,'' said Dee Yankoskie, manager of wireless education programs for the Cellular Telephone Industry Association, which represents manufacturers and service carriers.

``Why single out our industry?'' she asked.

Bents, vice president and research manager of Dynamic Science Inc. of Annapolis, Md., presented her findings in Oakland on Thursday before public safety advocates, police and cellular industry officials.

Her call for a ban follows renewed efforts by other states to follow 14 countries - including all of Europe, Brazil, Australia, Japan and Singapore - in separating drivers from their phones.

The last cell phone bill in California died in a transportation committee in 1997, the year Bents and other researchers published a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study.

Bock said the issue is deathly important.

``It makes you wonder, when there is nothing in California, why 37 other states think it's important,'' said Bock, who remains neutral on the issue. ``We have to ask ourselves: Is this (cell phone) going to keep us alive, on the road, or is it going to kill us quicker than anything else?''

Bock, who faces re-election in November, said she wants more studies before possibly introducing any car-phone bill.

The Automobile Club of Southern California, which supports cell phones as an emergency tool, advocates a ban on their use behind the wheel, even with distracting handsets.

``What we tell people is if you have to make a call, pull over and stop,'' said Carole Thorpe, an AAA spokeswoman.

Bents' two-year study, ``An Investigation of the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles,'' examined cell phone trends and crash statistics from federal sources and from Oklahoma and Minnesota.

Though data was insufficient to indicate the magnitude of cell-phone danger, the report concluded their use raises the risk of crashes by distracting drivers.

There are roughly 95 million U.S. cell phone subscribers, Bents said, of which 85 percent use them on the road.

Not only are cell phones common, she said, but the auto industry plans to introduce in-car plug-ins for e-mail, Internet access and navigational equipment.

One reason bans have not passed is vigorous lobbying by the cell phone and auto industries, Bents said. ``Electronic communications devices are potential cash cows for the automakers. Obviously, the stakes are high,'' she said.

The California Highway Patrol, while not holding a position on cell phone use while driving, cautions drivers about their safe operation. Use hands-free phones when possible, advised CHP spokeswoman Anne Da Vigo, and pull over for any in-depth conversations.

At the Oakland hearing, Alameda resident Howard Dean asked proponents of a cell phone-driving prohibition where the legislation would stop.

``Most people get distracted by things that are not cell phones,'' Dean said. ``Are we going to ban radios, CDs, fast food and all sorts of things?''

Los Angeles residents had mixed feelings about a ban.

``I have one and I use it (on the road), but I do think it's dangerous,'' said Teri Snow, 39, of Woodland Hills, who supports a ban.

Robert Ferrey of Silver Lake also supports a ban. He said he once saw a woman plow her Mercedes-Benz coupe underneath a big rig as she reached for her phone. He also recalled seeing a car rear-end another as the male driver dialed.

``You could see him punching the numbers,'' said Ferrey, 35. ``And when he put up his head - Bam!''