I do not want to be a statistic and I don’t think anyone should be. We might as well let people drive drunk as far as I am concerned.

Study 1 [3/13/2002] http://www.nsc.org/issues/idrive/inincell.htm

Study participants who engaged in cell phone conversations missed twice as many simulated traffic signals as when they were not talking on the cell phone. They also took longer to react to those signals that they did detect. These deficits were equivalent for both hand-held and hands-free cell phone users.

Cellular phone use disrupts performance by diverting attention to an engaging cognitive context other than the one immediately associated with driving.

Legislative initiatives that restrict hand-held devices but permit hands-free devices are not likely to reduce interference from the phone conversation, because the interference is due to central attentional processes.

Study 2 [7/23/2003] http://www.healingsearch.com/Health%20News/Cell%20Phone%20Driving%20Like%20Being%20Drunk.htm

A study published in 1997 in the New England Journal of Medicine, based on accident data in Toronto, found that the risk of driving and using a cell phone was similar to that when driving drunk. The risk of a collision was three to six times higher than when a driver was sober and not using a cell phone.

In a new study, researchers from the University of Utah conclude that talking on a cell phone behind the wheel is more dangerous than driving drunk. And it makes no difference whether the telephone is hand-held or used hands-free.

Study 3 [12/9/2005] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051209113320.htm

The study [of multi-tasking] can be applied to drivers who talk on cell phones. On the surface, it appears that drivers are trying to accomplish just two tasks – driving and conversing. But each task is complicated and multi-faceted, greatly increasing the “cost” of switching. The result: inattention and slow reaction times.

“A lot of people think talking on the cell phone while driving is natural, but each time someone asks a question or changes the subject, it’s like taking on a new task. It requires a certain amount of thought and preparation. It’s actually quite different than listening to the radio, where you don’t need to respond.”

“And it’s also different from talking to a passenger in the vehicle. In most cases, a passenger can observe when there is a dangerous traffic situation and keep quiet. But someone calling you on a cell phone won’t have a clue.”

Study 4 [6/30/2006] http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201586,00.html

Driving while talking on a cell phone is as bad as, or maybe worse, than driving drunk.

The study is detailed in the summer 2006 issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. It is the first peer-reviewed study on this topic to include drinking.

“Just like you put yourself and other people at risk when you drive drunk, you put yourself and others at risk when you use a cell phone and drive. The level of impairment is very similar.”

Study 5 [1/2008] http://www.psych.utah.edu/AppliedCognitionLab/

A University of Utah study found that conversation — and not the use of hands-free phone devices — is the main distraction while driving and talking on cell phones.

New research showed that the cars of drivers talking on cell phones tended to move slower and, thus, caused traffic to show down.

The costs of delay and traffic jams can be deceptively high. “If we compile the millions of drivers distracted by cell phones and their small delays, and convert them to dollars, the costs are likely to be dramatic. Cell phones cost us dearly.”