Cell phones' role in crashes to be noted

Was the driver distracted? By using a cell phone? Florida officers will soon be able to note that.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 4, 2001

The state wants to know how many drivers are causing wrecks because they're chattering on cell phones.

By the end of this month, when police officers throughout Florida fill out accident reports, they'll be able to check a box noting whether drivers were distracted at the time of the crash.

Elsewhere in their report, officers will describe the distraction: a cellular phone, eating behind the wheel, changing the radio station.

"Of course, first you have to get them to actually admit that," said St. Petersburg police Officer Mike Preshur, who investigates fatal crashes. "You've got to get them to tell you that's what they were doing."

Eighty-five percent of the nation's 90-million cell phone users talk while driving. All over the country, governments are considering restricting the practice.

"It's one of the most common causes of careless driving in today's world," said Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin.

Right now, when police in Florida investigate a wreck, they can note cell phone use on an accident form. But it's difficult for the state to gather statistics on the subject because these written notes could be counted only by painstakingly inspecting every report.

Accident forms with the new check box will soon be used statewide, making it easier to track accidents caused by cell phones.

"It is time that we at least keep track of it," said Florida Highway Patrol Capt. David Tripp. "We'll see where it leads us."

Besides Florida, four states -- Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania -- require investigators to note whether cell phone use contributed to crashes.

Last year, 27 states considered passing cell phone laws, from banning their use while driving to requiring drivers to use hands-free devices. No states actually passed laws, but cities in New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania have banned cell phone use while driving, says the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The idea has surfaced in Florida.

In August, city commissioners in Aventura, in north Miami-Dade County, approved a measure that asked people to not talk on their cell phones while driving through the city. There is no penalty, though.

"The bottom line is, the car is not your office," said Boca Raton Mayor Carol Hanson, who has been crusading for such a study. "There have been too many close calls. Everybody's got a cell phone horror story to tell you."

Hanson asked Boca Raton residents to write Gov. Jeb Bush and lobby for the study, and also got many letters from people supporting restrictions on cell phone use while driving.

Florida's new accident forms will debut statewide by the end of this month.

"It's simply the first step," said Debra Baxley, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. "It gives us more data that, basically, we can analyze."

The change came because the state's accident forms had to be revised this year, and the group that reviews them wanted a way to track cell phone-related crashes.

- Information from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel was used in this report.

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