Lakhasly

The increase in mobile phone use worldwide raises concerns that using mobile phones while driving increases accidents.This result means that previous estimates of the impact of mobile phone use on population risk, based solely on accident samples, may be overestimated by approximately a third.This article differs from previous research in two important ways: first, we use a larger sample of individual-level data; and second, we test for selection effects, such as whether drivers who use cell phones are inherently less safe drivers even if they are not on the phone.

The increase in mobile phone use worldwide raises concerns that using mobile phones while driving increases accidents. Several countries, three states, and Washington DC have banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. In this paper, we develop a new approach to estimate the relationship between mobile phone use while driving and crashes. Our approach is the first to allow direct estimation of the impact of a mobile phone ban while driving. Based on new survey data from more than 7,000 people. This article differs from previous research in two important ways: first, we use a larger sample of individual-level data; and second, we test for selection effects, such as whether drivers who use cell phones are inherently less safe drivers even if they are not on the phone. The article has two important findings. First, the impact of mobile phone use on crashes varies by population. This result means that previous estimates of the impact of mobile phone use on population risk, based solely on accident samples, may be overestimated by approximately a third. Second, when we correct for endogeneity, hands-free or hand-held cell phone use has no significant effect on crashes.