In the wake of Police announcing frustration over the public not abiding to hands-free cell phone laws, a new study says the hands-free kit isn’t any safer.
According to the National Safety Council, drivers using any type of communication device, hands-free or not, have a tendency to “look at” but not “see” object, and fail to notice 50 percent of their environment.
The study also says laws banning hand held cell phone use in vehicles gives a false impression that it is safe to use a hands-free kit when in fact their attention is divided and reaction time lags.
Premier Brad Wall read the study yesterday. He says he might consider launching an education campaign with SGI, but doesn’t plan to create any new laws.
“At the end of the day you can’t have a law for everything,” said Wall. “You can’t have a law to get people to stop running with scissors. This is a serious issue, but we need to be able to say at some point it’s up to the individual to be careful when they drive.”
He says there is a law to address what the study is talking about, Driving with Due Care.
Last year there were over 65 hundred distracted driving related collisions.
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