The National Safety Council is encouraging employers and states to ban cell phone use while driving.
“Death by Cell Phone” is the title of a new billboard campaign launched by the NSC.
The billboards feature Linda, a 61-year-old wife, mother and grandmother from Oklahoma, and Joe, a 12-year-old boy from Michigan, both killed in car crashes caused by drivers using cell phones.
The phrase comes from what Linda’s daughter said about her mother’s crash: “My mother died within a couple of hours from blunt force trauma to the head, neck and chest. I just call it death by cell phone.”
A companion video is also available at DeathByCellPhone.org. The video tells Linda’s and Joe’s stories.
According to a 2008 poll by Nationwide Insurance, 81% of cell phone owners report talking on their phones while driving and 18% admit texting while driving.
In January, the NSC called for a nationwide ban on all forms of cell phone use while driving.
The following state bans are in effect, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
- 6 states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah and Washington) and Washington, DC, ban talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving.
- Use of all cell phones by novice drivers is restricted in 21 states and DC, and
- Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 14 states and DC.
Would you support a nationwide ban on all use of cell phones while driving? Let us know in the Comments Box below.
