Editorial: Risking life, limbs to take a cell call

It's a frustrating encounter on the roads that just about everyone has had. Up ahead, in broad daylight, a car drifts across lane markers and fails to keep up with the speed of traffic. A glance at the weaving vehicle's driver as you pass confirms suspicions: There's a set of hunched shoulders, a distracted gaze and a cell phone. The driver is talking instead of concentrating on the road ahead. Everyone rushing to get by -- and out of the way -- knows it.

This week, a well-known advocacy group kick-started a much-needed national discussion on this dangerous practice by calling for a ban on all cell phone use by drivers. Citing numerous studies, the Chicago-area-based National Safety Council (NSC) urged recently convened state legislatures to crack down further than many have. A number of states, including Minnesota, already have some restrictions -- texting is banned here, and there are limitations on teens -- but a total ban would be a much broader and controversial step.

Talk radio airwaves crackled across the nation Monday as the NSC's John Ulczycki debated the proposal with irate callers who viewed the ban as government intrusion into personal lives. A cell phone industry group also opposes it. Given that many states, including Minnesota, still do not have primary seatbelt laws, it's unlikely that a cell phone ban would be enacted here or elsewhere anytime soon. State Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, who serves as chair of the Senate Transportation committee, said Monday he was unaware of any bill introduced at the Legislature this year proposing a total ban. Even the NSC's Ulczycki acknowledges it will take time, possibly years, for its lobbying efforts to result in the sweeping bans the group seeks.

Still, the NSC's campaign has achieved a short-term but timely goal: raising awareness of how dangerous cell phones are while driving. There are 270 million cell phone subscribers in the United States. According to one survey by the insurance industry, 80 percent of cell owners talk on the phone while driving (one interview for this editorial was conducted that way). Yet one landmark study estimates that drivers who use cell phones are four times likelier to be in crashes than those who do not. Using hands-free technology like Bluetooth doesn't seem to lessen the risk.

It's time to acknowledge that this is an emerging and critical public health issue. Road safety advocates such as Murphy and the Minnesota State Patrol say the spotlight focused on the issue by the NSC is both welcome and overdue. Many people simply aren't aware that cell phone use carries such risk to drivers and everyone else around them-- other vehicles, bicyclists, pedestrians. A generation ago, there was a similar lack of understanding about drunken driving's risks.

The NSC's cell phone campaign comes as significant strides are being made in traffic safety. Accident deaths nationally and in Minnesota are trending downward thanks to drunken-driving crackdowns, road improvements, strengthened car structures and fewer miles driven. Reduced cell phone use by drivers could have saved even more lives. Distraction remains one of the most common causes of accidents, and it's likely that the role of cell phones is underestimated, according to law enforcement, because people in crashes will hide phones or not admit they were using them when a crash occurred.

There's no need to wait for a future ban to address the risks. It's a matter of drivers taking responsibility -- starting now. If you need to take a call or make one, find a safe spot and pull over. No call is worth the risks it poses on the road.