Taking Cell Phones Out of Drivers' Hands No Panacea.

SINCE lawmakers worried about auto safety have begun taking cell phones out of the hands of drivers, for consistency's sake they should address the mascara problem as well.

No one can tell me that women -- well, mostly women -- aren't poking their eyes out or smashing into other vehicles as a consequence of behind-the-wheel cosmetic sessions.

In this motorist's humble opinion, highway cosmeticians are proliferating. It's also not unusual, when everybody's busy multitasking, to find drivers reading newspapers, reviewing tax returns or just munching on Big Macs while keeping a distracted eye on the road.

Not to forget that drivers are still doing what they have always done, from daydreaming or chatting with passengers to singing along with a Madonna CD or talking back to Rush Limbaugh on the radio.

So much to do, so much time stuck in traffic. Now legislators are weighing in, using some research and a bit more anecdotal evidence, to assert that distractions like cell phones are a growing menace on the roads.

New York will become the first state where motorists with their heads glued to cell phones in November will get traffic tickets, starting with stem warnings and then $100 fines for subsequent offenses. First offenders can escape the fine if they buy a hands-free device for talking on car phones.

Traffic tragedy

In the village of Brooklyn, Ohio, drivers have been banned from using hand-held cell phones since September 1999. Police officer Rich Hovan, 54, says he has probably written more than 500 $3 citations while patrolling the four-square-mile town near Cleveland.

With every citation he writes, Hovan distributes a three-page flyer describing the death of Morgan Lee Pena, 2, killed in a 1999 accident when a driver talking on a cell phone ran a stop sign in Perkasie, Pa. Her parents, Rob and Patti Pena, are spearheading a campaign calling for legal curbs on cell-phone use in cars.

The Penas founded a group, Advocates for Cell Phone Safety, seeking to ban cell phone use altogether by people operating vehicles. Their point: Hands-free technology, such as earphones or speakers, doesn't mitigate the dangers and distractions that arise when drivers talk on a cell phone.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's on-line legislative tracker, 22 states have laws pending or are debating legislation to control automotive cell phone use. In addition, 23 countries including Japan, Switzerland, Italy and Israel now have regulations restricting car drivers to hands-free use of cell phones.

Proponents of legal curbs cite research backing their position that cell phones have led to more accidents. But other studies fail to show any crisis.

The Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina, for example, concluded after a five-year study that about 284,000 drivers annually are involved in serious crashes caused by distractions. An event outside the vehicle, such as a child running in the street, was the leading cause in 29 percent of accidents. Other leading distractions included adjusting the radio, eating and drinking and a moving object in the vehicle.

Cellular phones were a factor in 1.5 percent of the accidents attributed to distractions, according to the study, which covered the period 1995 to 1999.

Wiper hypnosis?

"In my view, one reason why cell phones are getting all this attention is because they're more visible than people eating or changing a CD or trying to stop two kids from fighting in the back seat," said Bill Kemp, executive director of safety communication for General Motors Corp.

The debate over driver distraction is almost as old as the car, said Kemp. "At one time it was thought that windshield wipers could cause drivers to fall asleep," he said. "There were concerns when the first radio was introduced in 1935."

Automakers point to equipment that lets drivers "dial" numbers through voice commands while keeping their eyes on the road. Cell phones can promote safety, they argue, by allowing drivers to report accidents and summon emergency personnel more quickly.

Delphi Automotive Systems Corp., Visteon Corp. and other automotive suppliers say they expect to offer hands-free equipment soon that in effect will provide a local network within a vehicle, connecting cell phones through voice commands and amplifying conversations for all to join.

The most heart-breaking tragedies haven't yet persuaded the American public to give up handguns or cigarettes. It seems unthinkable that recent auto accidents -- equally tragic and heart breaking, no doubt, but certainly fewer -- will cause Americans to give up their phones.

Doron Levin is a Detroit-based columnist with Bloonzberg News.