ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CELLULAR-TELEPHONE CALLS AND MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS

The authors used an epidemiologic method, the case-crossover design, to study whether using a cellular telephone while driving increases the risk of a motor vehicle collision. The study included 699 drivers who had cellular telephones and who were involved in motor vehicle collisions resulting in substantial property damage but no personal injury. Each person's cellular-telephone calls on the day of the collision and during the previous week were analyzed through the use of detailed billing records. It was found that the use of cellular telephones in motor vehicles is associated with a quadrupling of the risk of a collision during the brief period of a call. Decisions on regulation of such telephones, however, need to weigh the benefits of the technology and the role of driver responsibility.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00284793
• Corporate Authors:

  Massachusetts Medical Society

  1440 Main Street
  Waltham, MA  United States  02254
• Authors:
  • Redelmeier, D A
  • Tibshirani, R J
• Publication Date: 1997-2-13

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 453-458
• Serial:
  • New England Journal of Medicine
  • Volume: 336
  • Issue Number: 7
  • Publisher: Massachusetts Medical Society
  • ISSN: 0028-4793
  • EISSN: 1533-4406
  • Serial URL: http://www.nejm.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cellular telephones; Crash causes; Crash injury research; Crashes; Driver errors; Driving; Human error; Research; Telephone; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Old TRIS Terms: Driving tasks
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I81: Accident Statistics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00734959
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 21 1997 12:00AM