Different states have taken different approaches to ban cell phone use while driving. While each strategy arguably has its merits, a recent study suggests that broader laws are more effective at preventing accidents than prohibitions that apply to specific habits and behaviors.
The nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) explained that in the United States there are two main types of laws that prohibit the use of cell phones while driving. Some state governments prohibit specific actions, such as calling and texting. Others enforce broad bans, such as making it illegal to hold or use a phone for any reason while in the driver’s seat on a public road.
“Technology is moving much faster than the laws,” said Ian Reagan, senior researcher at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “One solution could be to broaden them, rather than trying to compile an exhaustive list of prohibited behaviors.”
Reagan and his team came to this conclusion after examining the number of police-reported rear-end collisions in three states with broad bans. They found that the monthly accident rate per 100,000 people fell in Oregon and in Washington after laws were enacted banning motorists from holding a phone while driving. Rear-end collisions did not occur in California. Legally, a significant difference is that Oregon and Washington have made holding a phone illegal, even if the car is at a red light or stuck in traffic. California law is more vague.
It doesn’t say whether the ban will remain enforceable if the car is stopped at a traffic light, according to the study, and it points to “holding and using” a phone as illegal behavior, not just holding a phone. “Retrieving a forgotten phone from the passenger seat and attaching it to the dashboard mount, for example, may not meet the legal definition of holding and using it at the same time,” the study explains.
Researchers then compared the number of accidents reported in California and Washington from 2015 to 2019 with the number of accidents reported in Idaho and Colorado (which prohibit texting but not the use of other cell phones) during that period. They found that the number of rear-end crashes in California remained the same and fell by 8% in Washington. Oregon’s numbers have not been analyzed due to a change in the rules regarding police reporting.
The IIHS also reported that, unsurprisingly, a law is more effective when it is enforced and when the penalty for violating it is relatively severe. It’s easier for police officers to enforce a broad ban than a driving ban that contains loopholes, which could explain why distracted driving citations rose 50% in Oregon in 2018, the year after the ban went into effect . Washington’s rose 74% that year. However, several other factors affect these numbers, including the different methods states use to track and report these numbers.
Finally, the cost of the fine for breaking the law can affect those numbers. The study notes that motorists caught holding and using a phone while driving in California will be fined $20 for the first offense and $50 for the second; drivers also lose a point if they get the second fine within three years of the first. In Oregon, those numbers rise to $136 and $234, respectively, and a third violation can carry a fine of up to $2,000, a felony charge and six months in prison. Washington fines motorists $265 and $440, respectively.
“Our findings suggest that other states could benefit from enacting broader laws against cell phone use while driving, but more research is needed to determine which combination of wording and penalties is most effective,” Reagan concluded.