In response to a study from an auto insurance industry group which indicated that the increasing prevalence of state laws banning texting while behind the wheel was not helping public safety, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood struck back this week, saying that the group’s figures and conclusions were misleading to the American public.
In a blog post, the secretary wrote that “there are numerous flaws with this ‘study,’ but the most obvious is that they have created a cause and effect that simply doesn’t exist. For example, we have a national law against drunk driving. People are also required to wear seat belts. But if the number of fatalities in a state goes up one year, would it now pass as ‘research’ to say that seat belt and anti-drunk driving laws are to blame?”
LaHood also noted that numerous other studies – including some performed by the same industry group, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety – had found a strong positive correlation between the use of mobile electronic devices behind the wheel and the frequency with which motorists got into traffic accidents.
Nor, LaHood says, is he the only important figure who disagreed with the conclusions of the IIHS study. He cites statements issued by the National Safety Council, the American Automobile Association, and insurance company Allstate in which those groups expressed their doubts about the validity of the controversial research.
While the war of words over texting bans rages on, one fact is beyond doubt – drivers who insist on using their cellphones while behind the wheel pose a danger to themselves and others.