According to an analysis by the National Safety Council,
only 52% of fatal crashes in which evidence indicated driver cell phone use
were coded in national data as involving cell phones. The report, Crashes Involving Cell Phones: Challenges of
Collecting and Reporting Reliable Crash Data, reviewed 180 fatal crashes
from 2009 to 2011. Another notable finding of the report is that only one-half
of crashes after which the driver admitted to using a cell phone during the
incident were coded in Federal data as potentially caused by cell phone use.
The analysis also revealed great variation in reporting
trends between different states. Some states, including Tennessee, Texas and
California, reported significant numbers of crashes involving cell phone use
while others, such as Louisiana, Nevada and Connecticut, reported none.
The National Safety Council stresses the importance of
correcting statistics in regard to cell phone distracted driver crashes because
inaccurate statistics leave the impression that activities like talking and
texting while driving are not as problematic as they truly are.
Find more information on the National
Safety Council’s website.