Experts have argued that with a quarter of crashes in the United States now attributed to mobile phone use, it's the time to act on its use while driving, while suggesting that technology could be used to stop cellphone use behind the wheel.
Charles and Barry Pless claimed in the new report that although there is still some uncertainty about the association between mobile phone use and risk of crashes, given the proliferation of mobile phones, the prevalence of distracted driving is undoubtedly increasing.
Texting is the riskiest activity because the distraction is cognitive and visual, they explained.
Handheld phone use (particularly when making or receiving calls) comes next, and hands-free use is probably the least dangerous.
Convincing causal associations are notoriously difficult to determine, particularly in this area, they said. However, physicians and policy makers "must often make decisions and act before they have solid proof."
They therefore decided to proceed by taking as "given" that the risk was "causal, substantial, and likely to grow unless more successful preventive measures are introduced."
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They discussed possible interventions, such as education, legislation and technology, but point out that evidence supporting the effectiveness of education and legislation is inconsistent.
They believe the most promising solution to distracted driving caused by the mobile phone may be more technology. For example, software that prevents texting while driving or a signal jamming key that prevents mobile phone reception when the ignition is engaged.