Use of Cell Phones and Impact on Cycling Safety

Bikes and picnics at the 6-Day Race at the CSU Oval; photo by Elliot Ross Photography

Community Cycling School

Use of Cell Phones and Impact on Cycling Safety

House Bill 1094, Cell Phone Use, passed both the house and senate in a modified form. The new law will ban cell phone usage for those under 18 and texting for all drivers. Although it is not everything that was hoped for, it is a step in the right direction.

Overview

Bike Fort Collins firmly believes that in-vehicle cell phone use is having a very strong impact on traffic safety on cycling in Fort Collins. We are trying to find a sensible solution to this issue and have formed a grass roots effort for all concerned cyclists and citizens to stand with us and get a solution in place.

This page contains references to help people have informed discussions with their friends, neighbors and government representatives about the problem of inattentive drivers as well as possible action that can be taken on an individual and group level.

Please take a moment to complete our Cell Phone Usage Survey that allows us to get a better picture of how cell phones are used in autos.

If you want to contribute to this page or be kept up to date on this subject , please join Bike Fort Collins.

References

Studies

Colorado State Patrol Data (2003) - Inattentiveness is the leading cause of crashes

http://csp.state.co.us/TS_CrashStat.html

The University of Utah has done several studies on the impact of mobile phone use on drivers' attentiveness

http://www.psych.utah.edu/AppliedCognitionLab/DrivingAssessment2003.pdf

http://www.psych.utah.edu/AppliedCognitionLab/JEP_A_2008.pdf

http://www.livescience.com/technology/050201_cell_danger.html

Information about Driving and Cell-Phone Use in Colorado

http://www.drivinglaws.org/colorado.php

Cell phone distraction compared to passengers

http://www.pcworld.com/article/154696/cell_phones_distract_drivers_more_than_passengers_do.html

What to do in case of an accident

http://colobikelaw.com/contact.php

Article on new program to create cell phone law in Colorado

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/politics/18168257/detail.html

Look see at the mobile video market

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/comscore_mobile_video_niche_august.php

National highway crash statistics database

http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx

Impact of in-vehicle cell phone usage among college students

http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/cellphones/

Short term affects of cell phone laws on teenage driving

http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/pdf/r1106.pdf

NY Times article on hands free vs. hand held calls while driving

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/health/13well.html?_r=2&8dpc

Colorado State House Bill 09-1094, Concerning Wireless Telephone Prohibitions for Drivers

http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics/CLICS2009A/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/349F9CCA2B83CD5087257537001A2BB0?Open&file=1094_01.pdf

John Kefalas 1/13/09 radio interview on HB 1094

http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/FORTCOLLINS-CO/KCOL-AM/John%20Kefalas%201-13-09.mp3

Impact of cell phone use on pedestrians

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/health/30phone.html?_r=2

http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts_2007/bicycles.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s-3-12-16651-1,00.html

http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s1-3-12-16637-1,00.html

http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/almanac-safety.html

http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/facts/pbcat/index.cfm

Related Legislation

Oregon HB 3314 Adopted January 1, 2008 - Enhances the penalties associated with careless driving when the person convicted of this offense also contributed to the serious physical injury or death of a “vulnerable user of the public way.”

http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measures/hb3300.dir/hb3314.intro.html

All states with cell phone laws including Colorado

http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html

Smoking ban leads to major drop in heart attacks - The Denver Post

Smohttp://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11344163

Tougher legislation at Air Force Academy for drivers with cell phones - one week suspension w/o pay
sites NHTSA findings of 25% of all accidents due to Inattentive Driving.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/18380928/detail.html#-

Press release of California’s cell phone law

http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/sen/sb_1601-1650/sb_1613_cfa_20060421_113925_sen_comm.html

Articles on California cell phone law

http://www.pcworld.com/article/147819/california_enacts_cellphone_driving_ban.html?tk=rel_news

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffdl28.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-handsfree3-2009jan03,0,5307284.story

Your Action Is Necessary - and this is how.

On an individual level:
·       Don’t use your cell phone in your car
·       Place ‘cell free’ stickers or ribbons on car
·       Personal e-mail disclaimer requesting not reading message while in car
·       Change personal voicemail outgoing greeting indicating that you may be in your car and not able to answer at this time

At a local level:
·       Make a push on share the road rules with bicyclists
·       Incorporate with similar campaigns; i.e., coexist, share the road education, Safe Routes to School
·       City legislation
·       Get speed radar pictures for analysis
·       Meet with local legal groups and businesses to find possible common support
·       Newspaper support, ask radio stations for support via PSAs
·       Support cyclists in court, both with criminal and civil action
·       Allying with other mass transit

At the State level:
·       Contact insurance Commissioner
·       Use personalized ‘boilerplate’ letter to representatives (on our web page)
·       Encourage state representatives to join campaign

Letter to your Government Representatives:

Your city and state representatives are anxious to hear from you about your views on cell phone use in a moving vehicle. Send a letter to your local and state representatives requesting action. A sample letter shown below.

Sample Letter to State Representatives

(Cut and paste to your email application window)

Dear <representative>,

I am writing to ask you to sponsor or support legislation to eliminate the use of mobile electronic devices while driving a motor vehicle.

As you may know, cell-phone use by a motorist recently contributed to the death of a 9 year old Fort Collins resident, Erica Forney. This is not an isolated incident. This behavior is observed on our streets every day and contributes to the number one cause of traffic crashes in Colorado according to the Colorado State Patrol (http://csp.state.co.us/TS_CrashStat.html). The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimated that cell phone use while driving may have contributed to 2,600 deaths in the US in 2002 and it is safe to assume this number has grown since this analysis was performed. Without legislation on inattentive driving, we have no legal recourse for preventing tragedies caused by this behavior. Even after a tragic event such as the death of Erica Forney, the driver faces only minor consequences up to a year in prison and / or a $1000 fine.

I believe we need stronger legislation to help prevent inattentive driving and hold inattentive drivers who cause bodily harm accountable. Please sponsor or support legislation to eliminate the use of mobile electronic devices while driving a motor vehicle.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this matter.

Sincerely,