California Changes Cell Phone Crash Data
From the news story:
The report counted only 913 accidents in 2001 in which officers indicated cell phone use was to blame. Three involved fatalities.
But a Times analysis of traffic accident data showed the total would be higher if the CHP included all accidents in which the driver responsible for the crash was using a cell phone.
These figures suggest at least 4,699 accidents could be blamed on drivers using cell phones. In those accidents, 31 people died.
Maybe they should also look into how many accidents happened while the driver responsible for the crash had the car stero playing, because then you could blame all those accidents on car stero use. Better yet, check into how many accidents happened while the driver responsible was not using a cell phone, and blame all those accidents on the driver’s failure to use a cell phone.
It seems to me that the police officers on the scene already made a determination as to whether the cell phone usage contributed to the accident. But because that number wasn’t high enough for the people who want to ban cell phone use while driving, the numbers need to be changed…
(Note: This entry is from my second attempt at a blog, called Spundit.com, and has been transferred here for historical purposes.)