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Redelmeier, D. A., & Tibshirani, R. J. (1997, February 13). Association between cellular-telephone calls and motor vehicle collisions. The New England Journal of Medicine, 336, 453-458.
These researchers investigated the relationship between use of cell phones in automobiles and the incidence of auto accidents. They noted that "because of a belief that the use of cellular telephones while driving may cause collisions, several countries have restricted their use in motor vehicles....We used an epidemiological method...to study whether using a cellular telephone while driving increases the risk of a motor vehicle collision" (p. 453).
They studied 699 drivers who had cellular phones and who were involved accidents resulting in substantial property damage but no personal injury. Each person's calls on the day o9f the collision were analyzed through billing records. They approached 5,890 drivers, of whom 1064 acknowledged having a cellular phone; 742 consented to participate. The researchers obtained billing records with exact numbers and times of calls for 699 people.
Overall, 170 people (24 percent) had used a cell phone in the 10-min. period prior to the accident. Based on the number of accidents, Redelmeier and Tibshirani reported that there was a risk factor of 4.3, indicating over a fourfold increase in accidents associated with cell phone use. This is about the same value as for drunken driving.
What conclusion do you draw?
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(Last modified January 15, 2004)