Study shows a Kansas City cell phone ban may not reduce crashes.

A new study shows that laws banning handheld cell phone use do not significantly reduce the risk of traffic accidents.

The study was conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute, a non-profit research organization funded by the car insurance industry. The study compared monthly car crash claims in four states that have handheld cell phone bans. They looked at the number of claims that were made in New York, California, Connecticut and Washington, DC both before and after handheld cell phone bans went into effect. They also compared each state’s data with that of neighboring states with no cell phone bans.

The results were surprising. According to this study, cell phone bans do not decrease the number of traffic accidents that occur in a state.

Some safety experts suggest that these results mean drivers are not obeying the law and that more enforcement is needed. They are encouraging the funding of an additional study to determine if stronger enforcement efforts will lower the number of car crashes in these states.

The National Safety Council estimates that drivers who are talking on cell phones cause about 1.4 million crashes a year and that texting is responsible for additional 200,000 traffic accidents.

The United States Department of Transportation believes that the problem is driver distraction, regardless of the cause. They suggest that the risk of accident still exists even if a driver replaces a handheld cell phone with a hands-free device because the driver is still distracted. It is the distraction, not the use of hands that causes the accident.

Cell phones are not the only technology distracting Missouri and Kansas drivers – searching for a radio station, choosing a song on an iPod, programming a GPS navigation system, or even texting while driving are common activities that take a driver’s attention off the road. Even activities such as eating a hamburger, looking for change or disciplining children while driving are distracting to drivers. And, distraction is the major cause of American accidents. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data attributes 85% of American traffic accidents to driver distraction.

Have you been injured or lost a loved one in a car, motorcycle, pedestrian or truck accident caused by a distracted driver in Missouri or Kansas? If so, contact the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys. You are entitled to compensation for your injuries and other losses. Kansas City accident victims that hire an attorney receive significantly larger settlements than those that don’t. Don’t settle, call us at 1-888-348-2616 before agreeing to or signing anything. The initial consultation is always free and there is no obligation.

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Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys
1102 Grand Blvd., Ste 1901
Kansas City, MO 64106
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