If You Don't Like The Answer, Withhold The Statistics

I guess it was just found out that a report a few years ago once again confirmed that cell phone drivers are killing people and causing hundreds of thousands of accidents. Unfortunately, the Government apparently did not like the findings of the study and suppressed the statistics. The NHTSA didn't want to anger cell phone lobbyists, Congress, and voters who like to multitask while driving.

The highway safety researchers estimated that cellphone use by drivers caused around 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents over all in 2002.

The researchers also shelved a draft letter they had prepared for Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to send, warning states that hands-free laws might not solve the problem.

That letter said that hands-free headsets did not eliminate the serious accident risk. The reason: a cellphone conversation itself, not just holding the phone, takes drivers’ focus off the road, studies showed.

The research mirrors other studies about the dangers of multitasking behind the wheel. Research shows that motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers, and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.

I say that if other people are allowed to jabber away on their phone and text to their friends then I should be able to have a few beers while driving on my commute home. Cell phone drivers all say that they can handle it. I can handle my beer. Not letting me do so is hypocritical.

Here's the story.