The city of Bozeman began enforcing an ordinance banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving on Jan. 17. The ban, which levies a $100 fine on those caught using a cell phone while driving, was hailed by commissioners and civic leaders as a step toward a safer community.
Cell phone bans have been studied extensively, including a seminal study in 2010 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) which found no difference in accident rates before and after enactment of a handheld cell phone ban and after.
This is not to say that talking on the phone while driving is safe. Many studies have proven that it can be quite the opposite.
Every person has a level of attention they feel is necessary in order to be safe while driving. None of us stare unwaveringly wide-eyed at the road and none of us drive with our eyes closed. We’re all somewhere in between. The issue is that bad drivers consistently pay less attention than what is safe. Cell phones are simply one tool of distraction and banning a tool is not necessarily going to make a bad driver suddenly feel like they have to pay more attention.
Even the usual retort that at least one distraction is being taken away doesn’t hold water. Not to mention the people who will hide their cellphone use by switching to texting. By this fact alone, maybe calling could even be encouraged as a relatively safer alternative to texting.
So why would the city place this ban in the face of empirical evidence clearly stating that the proclaimed accident reduction is just smoke? Why enact the ban if there will be few benefits? Did the city commissioners just really not hear the evidence?
It turns out that's exactly what happened. I was lucky enough to have City Commissioner Cyndy Andrus speak at one of my classes last December. After class I asked her what the commission thought of the IIHS study and how that played into their decision.
She hadn’t heard of it. I explained the study and what they had found. Later that night I e-mailed her the study and she responded politely saying she would read it and get back to me with her thoughts. Since then, the law has gone into effect, and, as of publishing, despite repeated attempts to garner a response, I have heard nothing.
It’s not that this study was not well-known or hard to find. In a Google search for “cell phone ban study,” fully 6 out of 10 results reference the IIHS study. The fact that this research was out there and yet the City Commission did not take the time to find it is unacceptable.
These are the types of situations that those in positions of power must seek to avoid. Lawmakers must be aware that every law has more outcomes than intentions. Accept that people will do what they consider safe and easy to get away with, regardless of the law.
