DOT chief 'deeply concerned' about dangers of cell-phone use while driving

Computerworld - Federal officials today acknowledged the dangers of using a cell phone or texting while driving, saying the U.S. secretary of Transportation is "deeply concerned" about drivers distracted by using cell phones or texting.

The Department of Transportation statement comes after the release of federal documents obtained under pressure by consumer advocacy groups showing for the first time that federal transportation officials were aware that cell-phone use while driving caused hundreds of highway deaths annually as early as 2002.

In an e-mail statement to Computerworld, a DOT spokesman said that DOT Secretary Ray LaHood "is deeply concerned that drivers are taking their focus off the road to send text messages or use the cell phone."

While the statement does not urge drivers to stop driving while making calls, it adds that "distracted driving causes crashes, and we want to stress that the best way to avoid accidents is for drivers to keep their eyes and their concentration on the road when they get behind the wheel."

The DOT issued the statement following the release of hundreds of pages documents from 2003 obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by two consumer advocacy groups, the Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen. The documents were first provided to the New York Times, and also posted to the Center for Auto Safety Web site.

The documents include findings in which highway safety researchers estimated in 2003 that cell phone use by drivers caused 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents in 2002.

The documents also include a draft letter to the nation's governors from the DOT secretary at the time, Norman Mineta, who was appointed by President Bush, stating that the "use of cell phones while driving has contributed to an increasing number of crashes, injuries and fatalities." However, the letter was never sent to the governors.

The draft letter also notes a finding that scientific research had demonstrated even in 2003 that there is "little, if any, difference" between using a hands-free device and a cell phone, because having a phone conversation itself "degrades a driver's performance."

The letter even recommends to the governors that drivers in their states not use cell phones when driving except in emergencies, and recommends that states not pass legislation requiring hands-free phones because such legislation could "erroneously imply that hands-free phones are safe to use while driving."

The draft letter and the other documents never became public until attorneys at Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety sought their release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a DOT agency, starting in 2008. The NHTSA would not comment on the matter, referring all queries to the DOT.