Do cell phones cause car accidents?

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This is Future Tense for Monday, July 17th. Today: making high-tech devices safe for the highway. Some studies and plenty of ancedotal evidence suggest cell phones and other high-tech gadgets cause car accidents by distracting drivers. But researchers say much more data is needed to find out exactly how these devices distract drivers and how they can be designed to be more safe. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration holds a public forum on the issue tomorrow. Dr. Michael Goodman is an engineering research psychologist with the Administration. He says just making devices easier to use - for instance, designing speech-activated cell phones and dashboard maps - won't necessarily make them more safe on the road.

Funders

Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.

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