DON'T PHONE AND DRIVE! CHP STUDY FINDS CELL PHONES NO. 1 MOTORIST DISTRACTION.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

Cell phones lead the list of distractions that cause automobile collisions, according to the first California study correlating cell phones to crashes.

The report by the California Highway Patrol on crashes during the first half of this year adds statistical evidence to a number of studies that concluded that drivers can't effectively talk on the phone and operate a car at the same time.

The state Legislature, which is studying whether to ban cell-phone use in cars, has a bill that would require further study. But critics say the CHP numbers prove the need, and they point to several states that already limit phone use and some countries like Japan that ban cell phone use while driving.

``Those countries didn't wait until they had data and a pile of bodies,'' said Frances Bents, vice president of Dynamic Science Inc. of Annapolis, Md., who has studied cell phone safety in vehicles. ``In the U.S., they don't want to take action until they have statistics behind them.''

In its study, the CHP found that cell phones made up the bulk of ``associated factors'' in accidents, followed by adjusting the radio or distractions caused by children or eating.

The CHP marked cell phones as an associated factor in 341 of 238,000 collisions, or 0.14 percent of collisions statewide. In Los Angeles County, phones were a factor in 81 of 69,976 crashes, or 0.11 percent. About half of the L.A. County collisions included injury. A little more than 4 in 10 cell-phone-related collisions statewide included injury.

Not everyone is convinced. CHP Sgt. Ralph Elvira said cell phones may lead the numbers, but they're no more distracting than anything else drivers do in a car.

``It's unsafe anytime you take your attention away from what you are doing,'' said Elvira, a spokesman with the CHP's Southern Division based in Glendale. ``I would recommend people focus their entire attention to the driving act.''

The numbers of cell-phone-related collisions can be deceiving because it is difficult to determine whether someone was on a cellular phone during the time of a crash unless officials subpoena records from the cell phone company or obtain statements from independent witnesses, said CHP Officer Ray Abramian.

Some researchers say the numbers are deceptively small.

``None of the drivers wants to be responsible for a crash, so they wouldn't say, I was involved in a crash because I was using a cell phone,'' Bents said. ``I know people who have died because of cell phones. I have seen the faces of the dead, and I know the stories of the injured.''

Psychology professor David Strayer of the University of Utah, the primary author of a major study on driver distraction and cell phones, said research shows that people are 30 to 40 percent more likely to be involved in an accident if they own a cell phone.

``We know people drive differently when they drive with a cell phone. Sometimes they'll weave a lot, or they'll drive slower or won't take off as fast,'' said Strayer, who noted that research shows drivers are ``just as impaired when using a hands-free phone.''

Researchers say in countries that have banned cell phones while driving, such as Japan, the number of crashes has dropped dramatically.

But cell phone companies and proponents say the numbers, at best, need more study and urged caution behind the wheel.

Steven Crosby, vice president of AT&T Wireless, said if cell phone use is banned in a car, everything else that could cause distraction should need to be banned, and that is ``ludicrous.''

``Some people are just dumb people reading a newspaper while driving 80 mph down the freeway,'' Crosby said. ``It's like trying to legislate that kind of behavior.''

George Bates, a 48-year-old plumber from Santa Clarita who admitted having rear-ended a vehicle while on a cellular phone on the freeway, said he believes cell phones are still a must-have while driving.

``In business today, it's almost impossible to conduct business without having it,'' Bates said. ``If they came out with a law you can use hands free, I don't see a problem with it. Here in Southern California, we're on the roadway, and having a cell phone is imperative.''