It was encouraging to read Ian Jacques' editorial about a cell phone ban for drivers from a habitual user (Coast Reporter, June 26).
I find it amazing that people get so worked up about gang violence while cars kill a person a day in B.C. with almost no public concern.
A 2003 study by a U.K. insurance company found that cell phone users, even when using a hands-free set, had their reaction time impaired by the same amount as a .08 blood alcohol level.
In 2004 Exxon decided to ban their drivers from using cell phone since their own studies concluded that, "talking on a cell phone, regardless of whether the phone is hands-free, results in a braking response time that is three times longer than that of drunk drivers." The same Exxon study concluded that: "the risk is less severe in conversations with passengers in the vehicle because those conversations tend to ebb and flow according to traffic conditions. The person on the other end of a cell phone conversation is completely unaware of those conditions."
My most vivid experience of the issue was watching a driver make a right turn out of his driveway into the oncoming traffic lane nearly hitting a cyclist who was able to move to the side. I'm not sure if the driver's failure to turn directly into the correct lane was a result of unawareness of the oncoming cyclist or the fact that he only had one hand on the steering wheel.
My wife and I have a policy of asking our friends and family to call back when they're off the road if we discover that they're driving when we call them. We love them too much to endanger their lives.
John Klippenstein
Roberts Creek
