US government covered up dangers of mobile use while driving

Using a mobile while driving renders the driver four times as likely to have an accident

A Freedom of Information request has uncovered suppressed research which showed that mobile phone use while driving is much more dangerous than originally thought.

The research showed that making a call while driving renders the driver four times as likely to have an accident, and is the equivalent of having a blood/alcohol content of 0.08, the legal limit. This was also the case for other electronic devices.

More worryingly, the research showed that hands-free kits are no safer, since it is the mental distraction of the call that causes the bad driving, not the use of the handset itself. This makes a mockery of laws mandating the use of Bluetooth headsets, as is the case in California.

The researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggested in 2003 that a large-scale study should be carried out. But Dr Jeffrey Runge, then head of the Highway Safety Agency, told The New York Times that the project was dropped for political considerations, and that the agency was afraid of angering Congress.

"I really wanted to send a letter to governors telling them not to give a pass to hands-free laws," he said. "Based on the research, there was a possibility of this becoming a really big problem. My advisers upstairs said we should not poke a finger in the eye of the appropriations committee."

The research was buried, and came to light only after a Freedom of Information request by consumer advocacy groups Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety (CAS).

"People died in crashes because the government withheld this information," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the CAS.

"States passed laws and took action to restrict only handheld cell phone use, assuming hands-free cell phone use was safe. The studies NHTSA concealed showed that all cell phone use is as hazardous as drinking and driving."

The groups originally requested the data in 2008, but were turned down. They sued and the agency has finally handed over 100 of pages of documents.

"It is a travesty that NHTSA kept secret factual information that could have saved lives," said Public Citizen attorney Margaret Kwoka, who handled the case.

"Although the Freedom of Information Act protects an agency's decision-making process, these documents reflect facts about safety risks that the public had every right to see."