Our recent post about Driving to Distraction ... and Worse became even more interesting following the disclosure by Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety that the government during the last six years had blocked attempts to publish information revealing "that drivers talking on their cell phones experience the same potentially deadly distraction whether they are using a handheld device or hands-free technology."

Public Citizen states that "By keeping this information secret from the public for the past six years, the government has endangered even more lives, the groups said today. Cities and states across the country have passed laws and ordinances requiring drivers to use hands-free phones, mistakenly believing those devices to be safe and encouraging drivers to use them."

"By withholding this data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) led consumers to believe that it was safe to talk on their cell phones while driving if they kept both hands on the wheel. But these documents show that it is the conversation itself, not the device used to hear it, that causes 'inattention blindness,' a cognitive state that slows a driver’s reaction time and limits his ability to detect changes in road conditions. Further, well-documented scientific research and driving simulations analyzed in the NHTSA documents found that drivers using hands-free technology talk on the phone with greater frequency and for longer intervals."

"People died in crashes because the government withheld this information,” said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. “States passed laws and took action to restrict only handheld cell phone use assuming hands-free cell phones use was safe. The studies NHTSA concealed showed that all cell phone use is as hazardous as drinking and driving."

The Center for Auto Safety released a statement that they are " petitioning NHTSA "to restrict the availability of two-way communication features through in-vehicle systems while the vehicle is in motion, relying in part on information revealed in the released records as a basis for the petition. The Center also is asking NHTSA to support state programs designed to limit use of cell phones – whether hands-free or handheld – by drivers."

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